The House of Cards
by Ayeka Penor
Summary: I've returned! This fic was inspired by a friend's love for Cardcaptors and a new show I saw, YuYu Hakusho. The YYH stuff is here! Now the plot can start moving and now we know our enemy and Hiei has shown a softer side.COMPLETE
1. A War You Cannot Know

Author's Note: Okay folks, I've been lying low for a while, but I'm back. This fic is dedicated to my good friend, Vivi ;) who is a dedicated Cardcaptors fan. To all who love and treasure the series used, I apologize for any corruption of the characters or storyline, which I butchered in writing this YYHakusho/Cardcaptors crossover.

 July 9, 2036

Dear Diary,

            I've never written in a diary before, this is my birthday present from my new guardians, the Kanzaki family. Where should I start? Probably at the beginning.

            "A war is brewing, a fight to the death for those who seek it, a fight to hope for those who survive." Those were the last words my mother said to me. She had had on her special clothes, the ones I was always curious about when I was little. The colors had been perfect for her, pink and white with gold. She'd taken out the one book I was never allowed to touch, kissed me on the head, and left. She never returned.

            The next morning was my fifth birthday. I got up on my own, got dressed, and went downstairs to see if my mother was up yet. I searched the whole house. Then I guess I dragged a chair over to the phone to call someone, but I fell off and hit my head. I woke up in a hospital with my head wrapped up and a strange woman leaning over me. She smiled and said, "It's alright, everything's going to be okay, Neko…"

            I looked around. "Where's Mommy?"

            The woman shook her head and said, "Go back to sleep, Neko." Of course I didn't sleep until the woman, a nurse, quietly told me my mommy and daddy wouldn't be coming for me. Then I cried myself to sleep. What came when I next woke up, was a social worker. She told me that they had found no relatives to take me in, and that my parents' will left me in the care of an uncle they couldn't locate. I was taken to a temporary foster home with an elderly couple who fussed over me and let me cry and scream about my parents until I wore myself out. It took me three months to talk again, and then I went to live with another family. They explained they were my new parents and the couple introduced me to their children and the rest of the extended family and I didn't feel quite so lonely. 

            As fate would have it, I only stayed with them for a year. I had become a rather quiet child, and didn't play with the other children. They sent me away to another home. I stayed there a year and a half. With each home I went to, it always went the same way. The family would take my quiet behavior as that of a nervous child in a new home, at least for a few months. Then they would try to make me happy. Depending on the amount of patience they had, this could last for a few more months or over a year. At the age of ten, I arrived at my last foster home.

            **_That was when it all changed, and what was once reality, became fantasy…_**

            Neko set down her pen and closed the diary. She looked at the cover. It was white, and had a charm on front of a heart with wings. Looking around herself, one couldn't guess she had only just arrived a month earlier. There was stuff everywhere. Books, manga, clothes, pencils and pens…and cards. When Neko had asked to look through the things of her parents' that had been put in storage, Mr. Kanzaki had agreed. Of the things there, the antique book had caught her eye. It was pink, and had weird pictures on it. Opening it had taken some effort, but inside had been a deck of some of the strangest cards Neko had ever seen. They didn't have any similarities to tarot cards or regular playing cards, and a web search had found no sign of a game using cards with names like, 'The Sand' or 'The Earthy.' 

            When she'd scanned in the cards to post a question on one of her favorite message boards, the images in the center didn't show. Feeling a little defeated, she left a note that the pictures didn't scan well and posted one picture, 'The Little' card. So far she'd gotten no response.

            Her new home had a lot going for it that none of the others did, one was the absence of any foster siblings. This couple had one son in college, who was never around. Typically it was the kids who finally convinced the parents to get rid of her. Another thing was they let her use their abandoned tree house. It was from their son's youth, and quite small, but she was fairly short for her age. The tree house offered a refuge from the world, and Neko felt comfortable in it. There was something about the house, something that moved her in a way she hadn't been before. It was like it really was her home. These things had all caught her off guard, and then there was school.

            Her peers didn't seem to care that she never volunteered to join a conversation, but didn't shut her out. It was the first time she had encountered anything like this. They let her sit with them at lunch or in the library without asking too many questions. She did think one girl in particular could become a friend, Aki. Aki Kelly got great grades and was cheerful, but was pretty distant from the other students. Her parents had a ton of money, and she planned to go into the family business, despite her obvious love for painting.

            Neko closed the diary with her key and put it under the mattress. She'd find a better hiding spot later. For now, bed. 

            At school the next morning, Neko got a surprise. Aki came running up to her in the hall. "Neko! Wait!" Neko stopped and turned around. Aki's short, black hair bobbed up and down as she ran. She slid to a stop in front of Neko and panted, "I was wondering if you'd—like to come with me and my mom to the fair." Big breath. " This is the last day it's here, and I haven't had a chance to go yet."

            Neko blinked. "Um, I'd have to call Mrs. Kanzaki…"

            Aki grinned and her exhaustion seemed to vanish. "Great! See you after school!" Neko shook her head and went into class. Maybe Aki had too much energy to become a good friend. Neko sat down and prepared herself for math. She was a whopping 0 on the social scale, but in school work she was a 10. Information was what she craved, and school was always there. Her dedication to school work was noted on her record, because it seemed to be her one positive trait. Even when she was polite, it was always painfully so.

            After school, Neko entered the school yard ready to walk home, her mind lingering on history and not her plans with Aki. She was only halfway to the sidewalk when Aki came up behind her. "Hello! Are you ready to go? My mom's right over there." Neko followed Aki's pointing finger to a woman with long, black hair and bright, blue eyes. She wore an outfit that sort of stunned Neko. The way it was designed made Neko think of her mother. Shaking it off, she followed Aki to the curb.

            Aki did the introductions. "Mom, this is my new friend, Neko. She just moved here." Then she smiled at me. "This is my mom! Madison Kelly."

            Mrs. Kelly was looking at me sadly. "Neko… you look just like one of my childhood friends. What's your last name?"

            I bowed slightly, "Li, Ma'am." She blinked.

            "Please, just call me Mrs. Kelly. But tell me, was your mother's name Sakura?"

            A little uneasy, I nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Kelly. She was Sakura Avalon Li."

            Aki's mother shed a tear, then abruptly dropped to a knee and gave me a hug. I stared at Aki over her mother's shoulder. "You look just like her," Mrs. Kelly said quietly. With a final squeeze she stepped back and wiped her face. "I was crushed when I heard you're parents were dead, and never found out what happened to you. I always assumed you went to your father's family."

            "My father's family? What family?" I asked.

            Mrs. Kelly looked around and opened the car door. "Come on, Girls, get in so we can get going. We'll talk more about this at a more suitable time. For now, let's enjoy ourselves." With that, we were off to the fair, and Aki chatted the whole way to a silent audience.

PS Author's Note: Err, if anybody out there knows the names of Li's (Shaoran's) sisters, I COULD SURE USE ONE OR TWO! At least one makes an appearance later, and I can't find their names anywhere! ::takes a deep breath and bows:: Thank-you.


	2. gasp Not the Ferris Wheel

Author's Note:  ::Ayeka P. comes in bowing repeatedly:: I'm soo sorry for not updating this weekend! I was just very busy with visiting a college on Saturday and a couple of other appointments on Sunday. Then yesterday I couldn't get the chapter to upload. I'm very, very sorry. Okay?

            The fair was bright and alive. People were milling about trying to reach their favorite booths and rides. Kids were dragging their parents around like giant stuffed toys, and the smell of popcorn and fried dough filled Neko's nose. She'd been to fairs before, and circuses and the like, but she felt that same home feeling at the sight of the playground and the toddlers playing off to the side. For a moment she was one of those happy children, with her mother and father standing with the other parents talking.

            Aki grabbed her hand and started to pull her towards one of the lines. "Come on! Let's try the ring toss!" What came next was an endless game of follow Aki, who ran around with limitless energy to what felt like every single game and ride. Neko let herself be dragged until she found herself in line for the ferris wheel. 

            Neko took a step back as she looked up at the immense metal structure and stepped on the foot of the person behind her. She apologized and then whispered in Aki's ear, "Please, not the ferris wheel."

            Aki turned. "Why not? You can't visit a fair and not ride the ferris wheel."

            Neko looked up at the terrifying ride and said, "I hate heights."

            The black-hared girl sighed and stepped out of line. "Okay, if you really don't want to." Then she perked up right away and said, "What about the show tent? We haven't seen what's going on in there yet! Let's go!" Aki ran off, Neko and Mrs. Kelly close behind. 

            The show tent was the last part of the fair they hadn't seen yet. It was right next to the exit to the park, but Aki had gone right past  when they came in. Now they entered and found seats around the ring. It was a modest tent, could fit three hundred spectators, and had a ring in the middle that could fit a couple of acrobats comfortably. There was a  juggler in there at the time, so they sat down to watch. Neko sat her stuffed-cat prize next to her and the bag of other goodies she'd won. The juggler lit his batons on fire and started to dance around as he tossed them. 

            Maybe he wasn't used to performing inside, but whatever the reason, he tossed one too high. It smacked into the tent top and came down. Everyone held their breath, but there were no visible flames. Neko let out a relieved sigh, but it caught in her throat as her eyes focused on a darkening spot. Oh no! she thought. Very slowly, yellow flames began to grow and lick the tarp. Neko looked around, but no one else seemed to notice. She wanted to scream that the tent was on fire, but couldn't seem to open her mouth. Trapped, she stared at the tent top as the fire spread.

            Someone screamed. Heads turned and then looked up. More people shouted, and almost as one, the crowd inside got up to get out. Aki jumped to her feet and started to grab her stuff. Neko still felt paralyzed. All these people, headed for the exit, the fire was spreading, they wouldn't all make it, what could they do? "Water!" Neko said loudly. Mrs. Kelly looked down at the girl in front of her and then heard a loud splash.

            The tent went silent as people turned to look back at the ring. Water dripped from the tattered cloth on top, charred black by now extinguished flames. The energy seemed to ebb from the crowd, and they walked quietly out. As Neko, Aki and Aki's mother left, the juggler and a man in a suit were standing off to a side of the entrance, staring at the hole and the puddle. Neko sighed and put it behind her.

            Aki's mother dropped Neko off at her new house and she went in. She looked around. No one seemed to be home. Upstairs, she carefully arranged her prizes on one of the few empty shelves that lined the walls. The stuffed cat stared back at her as she did her homework, he alone had gotten a special spot on her windowsill in front of her desk. He was stormy gray with gold eyes. She had always wanted a gray cat, but foster children usually didn't have the privilege of pets.

            "Neko?" called Mrs. Kanzaki. Neko heard the rustling of paper and guessed her foster mother had been out grocery shopping. She closed her math book and padded downstairs. Mrs. Kanzaki looked up from putting things away and smiled. "Hello, is pasta okay for tonight? I haven't left myself enough time for a real meal."

            Neko nodded. "Pasta would be fine. Um, how was your day?" She silently slapped herself. Why had she done that? Now she was prompting conversation.

            Mrs. Kanzaki resumed her task as she spoke, "Well, I went out to lunch with some neighbors and then to the grocery store when you called and said you'd be out." She closed the fridge and asked, "How was the fair?"

            Neko swallowed. "Well, Aki led me around everywhere. We went on every ride and visited every booth, I think, but I refused to ride the ferris wheel."

            "You don't like heights?"

            "No, I've never really liked them. Oh, and there was this one time I was taken on a family trip to Hong Kong. The moment the plane was off the ground—" For no reason Neko could conceive, she ended up talking to her new mother until dinner was on the table and Mr. Kanzaki stepped in the door. Then she was asked about her day again. During dinner she gave them the full tail of her adventures that afternoon. When she mentioned that the tent caught fire, the couple looked alarmed.

            "Was it bad? Did everyone get out?" asked Mr. Kanzaki.

            Neko waved a hand. "It was okay, someone outside managed to dump water on it and put the fire out before anyone got hurt."

            Mrs. Kanzaki let out a sigh. "That's good." Neko went back upstairs to finish her homework after helping her newest set of parents with the dishes. She felt unusually light and happy, almost dizzy. Was this why people talked so much? This free feeling was addictive. 

            Neko sat down at her desk and dove into her work. In no time, she was closing up the last subject and putting it in her bag. Tomorrow was looking brighter. She realized she had plenty of time before she had to go to bed, and decided her parents would appreciate it if she cleaned up her room. In the middle of this task, she realized something was missing: Her mother's book with the cards. 

            She rushed about, looking everywhere she might've put it. It wasn't anywhere. "Oh! Where is it!" she said aloud as she slumped to the ground beside her bed. Her eyes closed and she felt herself calm down. She felt a glow on her eyelids and opened them. Her backpack seemed to shining. "Why would it be in there?" Neko asked herself, but sure enough, just inside her back pack sat the pink book. She took it out and traced its detailed cover. There was something missing. The front and back covers looked like they were incomplete, as if they were supposed to have two images to be centered around. 

            Neko opened it up and gasped. 'The Water' card was on top. She picked it up and gazed at it with wonder. She was sure all the cards had been facing down when she put them away. She also thought she'd left them at home. Oh well. 

            As she turned to put the book on her desk, there was a blinding flash outside. Neko squinted and blinked a few times. Then there was a series of paler flashes, just down the street from the looks of it. Neko turned and ran from the room. She went downstairs to the living room. Her parents were watching TV, oblivious to what was going on outside. No—they were asleep.

            Neko slipped off her slippers, put on her shoes, and ran out the front door. She ran down the street, gaping at the windows and all the sleeping people. What was going on? The flashes seemed to be moving towards the street where they were rebuilding one of the office complexes. Neko felt her fear dwindle and vanish as she was drawn forward. She ran down the street, but ended up cutting across yards and climbing over fences. Her feet carried her faster than she thought she could run, and brought the flashing lights closer.

            As the next street opened up to the construction site, Neko slowed and stopped. There were two people standing on the steel supports for one of the new edifices. How did they get up there? Weren't they afraid of falling? She gasped as one of them jumped up into the air and came down at the other, wielding a staff. The defending individual deflected the blow with a sword. Light flashed as they hit, then Neko got a big surprise. 

            The first one held a hand in front of himself as if in prayer, and a ball of flame appeared. His opponent held up his sword and said something as well, creating a blast of water. The flame didn't get wiped out, but deflected down. It hit one of the cranes nearby, causing it to buckle and loose the steel beam it was carrying. Neko looked up as it came down at her and screamed. The ground around her feet glowed gold and stared at it. Then the book, which she hadn't been aware of carrying with her, sprung open and a card flew out.

            "Fly!" she shouted, as 'The Fly' card rose up and beyond her reach. Time seemed to freeze, then she was lifting away from the ground and there was a loud banging noise. She looked down and saw the beam where she once had been. Where was she? Neko looked around and saw wings. An angel? She tried to turn around, but the wings just stayed behind her. Wait, were they hers…?

            "EEEK!" she yelled. "I hate heights!" Just as she said it, the wings vanished and she fell to the ground. It wasn't a bad fall, but it hurt nonetheless. She scowled and looked down at the book just as the errant card floated down and dissolved into the book. "So you're the one responsible for all this!" she said to it, knowing it couldn't respond.

            There was a flash and Neko looked up at the battle in progress. She frowned. The combatants were a man and a woman. The lady with the staff was a young adult, twenties from her appearance in the dim light. The man with the sword looked older. At first glance they had seemed the same, but now Neko had a gut feeling, an inner voice, which told her she couldn't allow the young woman to lose. 

            Neko picked up the book and got to her feet. Neither individual seemed to notice her. She looked at the book. "How do I use you on purpose?" There was no sign it had heard. Neko bit her lip and looked back up at the fight. The young woman was falling back under a fierce attack by her opponent. Neko felt alarm course through her veins. She opened the book, grabbed the cards and took one off the top. She looked at it. "'The Libra'? What good could this do?" The picture was of a scale, and odd one. Well, if it didn't work, no harm would be done. Neko held the card out in front of her and concentrated on its image. "Libra," she said.

            The card glowed and in a swirl of light it rose to separate the two fighters. They paused, confused at what this thing was. Then the scale on the card appeared. It glowed and tipped slowly in the young woman's direction. Neko smiled. Now she understood. She took another card and looked at it. 'The Fight' card was in her hand now. Neko smiled, she knew exactly what she wanted this card to do. "Fight." The card glowed and a figure like the one on the card rose up to the scale and balanced on top of it. She turned and looked at the man with the sword. Without warning, she leapt forward and hit him with a punch.

            He fell back, unconscious, on the beam. Neko held her breath, waiting to see if he would roll off. When he didn't, she let it out. Now, how did she get her cards to become cards again? As she pondered this, the scale and fighter became streams of light which returned to her and became cards once more. She smiled at them. This could be very useful. Then she thought of something. If her mother had taken these with her when she died, how did they return without her? And if they survived, could her mother have? Or did the cards kill her mother? Suddenly Neko wasn't so enthusiastic about her newfound powers.

            "Hey you! Girl! Who are you?" shouted the woman. Neko looked up, a little scared. The man was gone, where to was anyone's guess. Neko swallowed and took a few steps back, holding the book close. She hit the beam that had fallen earlier and fell back. Her head hit the pavement and everything went dark.

Author's Note: Thank-you for the sister's names!


	3. Family Reunion

Author's Note: Hehe, sorry folks. My mother was doing some spring cleaning and threw out my rough drafts in her frenzy. I've tried to remember what I had originally, but the result has been a short chapter. The next should be longer. Thank you so much to my reviewers and readers!

            Meilin looked at the girl lying on her couch and bit her lip. The child bore an astonishing resemblance to Sakura when she'd been young, but the dark red hair wasn't like anything she'd seen before. It was closer to purple than brown. One thing which was very much the same, was the book. Sakura's magic book, which held the cards she'd inherited from Clow Reed and then changed into Sakura Cards, was held close like a teddy bear. Not two hours ago, Meilin's cousin had brought the girl in, saying she'd interfered with a magic battle near the Yokku construction site. That corporation was in Japan, far from Meilin's home in China. Magic portals used by the Kurai brought their fights to seemingly random locations all over the Earth. 

            Now there was this girl. Just as the battles were reaching a high point, this girl showed up with the Cards. Meilin went to the phone and called Li Yelan, the head of the family. "…She has no identification on her…but shouldn't I wait unti—yes." Meilin hung up and picked up her keys. She put the unconscious girl in the back of her car and drove to the family's home. It was very private, very old, and brimming with ancient power. This was the Li family's base in the war against the Kurai. It was home to most of the Li clan, few lived beyond an hour's drive since what had happened to Shaoran and Sakura. A couple in their prime, powerful magicians, defeated by the Kurai. 

            Meilin got out of her car and opened the door. Almost instantly, the door to the house opened and a young man came out. He had black hair, brown eyes, wide shoulders, and a hard face. His clothing was traditional, and almost all blue. "Hello, Yuki, I'm here to see Mrs. Li," Meilin said, turning to get the girl out of the car.

            "What have you got there?" he asked, coming over. Meilin turned and closed the door with her foot. Yuki froze. His eyes narrowed into slits and he said, "Taking in runaways, are we?"

            Meilin strode past towards the door. "For your information, Fanren brought her over from Japan where she just had a duel with one of the Kurai." He stiffened. "You should probably be asking her the questions." Meilin stormed into the house and headed for the main parlor. Yuki always got on her nerves. He acted like he was the king of the castle, or the king's champion at least, when he'd barely won his last battle.

            Meilin knocked on the door lightly, unable to get much torque on her wrist because of the child. "Come in." Meilin entered and bowed. Mrs. Li, Shauran's mother, was by no means old, but still looked too young to be a grandmother twelve times over. Her long, black hair hadn't a hint of gray, and her eyes were as sharp as ever. Barely a wrinkle dared appear on her stern face. The war was taking its toll on everyone, and Li Yelan most of all.

            The woman stood and motioned for Meilin to set the girl down. Meilin stepped back and said, "Fanren brought her in on her way to where she'd met the Kurai. I would've let her just stay at my place, but there is the matter of the Cards…"

            Mrs. Li held her fan above the slumbering child and waved it a few times. The girl's eyes slowly opened, brown eyes, brown eyes which felt so familiar…

            Neko woke up in a strange room with a strange woman standing beside her. She moved to sit up, and noticed her arms were clutching the book. Neko tossed it to the other end of the couch and shrunk away from it. "What is your name?" asked the woman. Neko looked up at her. She was beautiful, and looked young, but her eyes looked too wise. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

            Neko nodded. "I'm Neko, Li Neko." She looked around, expecting to see typical office fair or hospital or something of the sort, but instead saw a richly room out of a TV program. It spoke of quiet comfort, a home. "Where am I?" When her question failed to get a response, Neko looked up at the stranger again.

            The woman and another, younger lady behind her, seemed frozen. The one who'd spoken before asked slowly, "Who are your parents, Neko?"

            Neko blinked. "Um, if you're hoping to get them to pick me up, you'd best call my foster parents, the Kanzakis."

            The lady said again, "Who are your parents, Neko?"

            Neko frowned. "My mother and father? Shaoran and Sakura."

            The young woman in back started to whimper. Neko stared at her. Then the taller woman's face came down close. There were tears dancing in her eyes. "Neko…" she said, and she held the girl in a tight embrace. The woman let out a shuddering breath and said, "We thought they had killed you. We never should've believed them, never should have let you be abandoned." Neko's mind was running at a million miles per second. What was going on? Were they her relatives? The woman loosened her grip and backed away, one hand rising to brush Neko's hair from her eyes. "Granddaughter, you are safe now."

            "Granddaughter?" Neko said, her breath quiet with amazement. "You're my grandmother?"

            The lady smiled slightly, she didn't look like she smiled often. "Neko, you are my only son's only child. I hope you will consider letting us take care of you."

            To Neko, the last few hours had been one reality-splitting second after another. Now she was only able to nod, her voice gone. This woman was her grandmother. This could be her house. Then Neko remembered the other woman and looked over towards the door.

            The other woman was gone, in the doorway stood a very imposing young man. His eyes were fixed on her like lasers. Neko met them in an act of defiance. "Shaoran's daughter, hm?" he said. "I guess I'm lucky you don't have any magic." Neko took an instant dislike to him.

            Her grandmother rose to her full height. "Yuki, she has the Sakura Cards, she has great power." Then she turned her head and looked away from him. "You are just blind to it, like with Sakura." Yuki's face turned slightly red and he turned on his heel and left the room. Neko began to have second thoughts about staying.

            "Uh, Grandmother?" Neko asked quietly. Yelan turned and Neko looked at the book with the cards. "Do I have to use magic?"

            Mrs. Li walked over and picked up the book. "Yes, you must. As you were born with the power, you have a responsibility to protect those without it." She held the book out. Neko reluctantly took it. A hand traced the design on the cover. "It is strange that the Guardians failed to return to protect the Cards, perhaps they were destroyed."

            Neko bit her lip. Destroyed when her parents died? Even so, her father had not come home from work the day before her mother left to fight, did they even see each other before the end? And why had this enemy left her alive and then claim it had not? And if these guardians and her parents had been defeated, how did the Cards survive?

            "I shall call in and get this mess straightened out. But for now, I will return you to your current home." Neko followed her grandmother out of the room.


	4. The End of the Cards

Author's Note: Well, since I'm on a roll, may as well update another chapter. Easter became relatively boring when my grandmother died, so here's an extra treat!

            Neko sighed. She'd moved to China only a year ago, and was bored out of her twelve-year-old mind. The Li clan seemed to do nothing except study magic and skills associated with it. Her home was the Li mansion, in which she had received her own room, bathroom, an entire closet of new clothes, and an appreciation of privacy. No matter where she went in the house, there was usually someone else in the. This had forced her to turn outside for solitude and a place to calm her thoughts. That was when she'd discovered her tree.

            The property had several large gardens, and there was a wooded area on one side. A few large trees were allowed in the yard, and it was in one of these that Neko had found a particularly comfortable niche between a few branches. She escaped from her meditation and martial arts lessons here, and did her own kind of meditation. It was safe here, in her tree, and no one could bother her. Content, she closed her eyes and hummed a tune.

            Inside the house, in a special case in her room, the Sakura book glowed.

            Rita, Neko's cousin, answered the door to find a stranger holding a couple of boxes. When he smiled at her, it reached his pale blue eyes and they shined. "Hi! Is Miss Neko Li home?"

            Rita stepped back to let him in. The wards hadn't gone off, so he wasn't a Kurai. "She has lessons right now," Rita said. Of course, Neko was always at lessons, trying to catch up with her peers. Rita led the guest into the first parlor and offered him a seat. With a bow, she said, "I will go check if she may come." Rita slowly closed the door, then ran to her grandmother's study. She knocked and came in. "Ma'am, there is a man here to see Neko."

            Yelan looked up from her book. "I see. Go find Neko, I believe she is skipping her lesson again today." Rita silently cursed and left to find her errant cousin. 

            "Stupid Neko! She'll never master the Cards, so why does she get to keep them?" Rita said to herself as she ran outside. Usually Neko emerged from the garden when called, so best to check there first.

            Neko woke up alert. She waited. "Neko!" Neko stretched and looked down. Her cousin, the one with hazel eyes, was standing below her tree with a frustrated look on her face. As Rita passed, Neko hopped down from her branch, landing with a nearly silent thump. Rita walked a few more steps, then whirled around. "Neko! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

            "Sorry," Neko said, not sounding the least bit regretful. Rita calmed down.

            "There's a guy here to see you. He's got a couple of boxes with him, too." 

            "What's his name?"

            "Uhh…" Rita remembered that she hadn't asked. Neko waved a hand.

            "Never mind. Where is he?"

            "The first parlor next to the entrance." Neko took off at a run for the house. As she neared the front door, she slowed. There was something strange here. She felt a little dizzy and muddled, as if she had a fever. Deciding it was a result of her midday nap, she went in and turned the corner to the parlor.

            Inside was a man with black hair, pale eyes, and a couple of boxes. He stood as she entered, and bowed. Neko returned the gesture and when she looked back up he said, "It is an honor to finally meet you again, Miss Neko. I work for Mrs. Kelly in Japan, and she asked me to bring you a couple of things when I visited the area." He picked up the two boxes, one was two feet by one foot by one foot, the other looked like a large shirt box. 

            Neko picked up the top one and sat down in one of the chairs. She cut the tape with a fingernail and lifted the lid. Her eyes went wide. Inside was a costume. She recognized it instantly as similar to one her mother had worn, but where it had been pink this one was purple. The outfit was trimmed with pink and included long gloves to match. There was even a hat and pair of shoes. 

            She traced the edges with a hand. "It's from Mrs. Kelly? Aki's mom?" 

            "Yes, and then there is this…" Neko noticed he was holding the last box carefully. She set the clothing aside and picked up the other bow. She almost squealed when whatever was in it shifted. Neko's heart was racing as she lifted the cover, catching a glimpse of newspaper through holes in the lid. She looked down at a gray kitten, a smoky gray kitten. It turned its amber eyes up to her and she smiled. It was exactly what she'd always wanted. Neko reached in and lifted it out. She was amazed to see it had left no mess in the box. 

            She held it up to her face and said, "It's perfect!" 

            Then her little kitten said, "Of course, I'm not a normal feline." Neko gasped and dropped the cat onto her lap. It shook itself and sat on its haunches, looking up at her. Neko looked up at the delivery boy, but he was gone. "Don't bother, Sapphire will be back once he's needed. Until then, you're all mine."

            Neko swallowed. "And who are you?"

            The kitten's tail swished. "I am Kiri, one of your guardians." She hopped down to the floor and mewed at the door. Neko rose as the handle turned. Her grandmother entered.

            "Grandmother!" Neko said, bowing her head. 

            The lady of the house looked around. "Has your guest left already?" Neko nodded. "Pity. Who is this?" Neko looked up from her feet to see Kiri sitting at her grandmother's feet.

            "Her name is Kiri, she's one of the gifts Aki and her mother sent to me."

            "I see, and what was the other?"

            Neko picked up the first box and opened it to show her grandmother the outfit. Yelan stroked the cloth and said approvingly, "Quite the master of battle costumes, Madison Taylor Kelly is. This is her work, similar to what your parents wore." Neko nodded. "I trust you'll be responsible for your pet? If so, then we'd better arrange for some necessities." Kiri became a permanent resident of the Li household.

~3 weeks later~

            Neko scowled at the paper in front of her. How was she supposed to learn English and Latin in addition to improving on her Chinese and Japanese? Her adolescent temper was getting the better of her and she fell back on her bed with a sigh. Kiri chose that moment to join her. "You know, Neko, you should concentrate more on your meditation and schoolwork. It is very important for you to be able to handle every possible situation in a battle without losing control."

            Neko sat up and looked at her cat. "You know, I haven't done any magic since I got here. Maybe it's gone away and all this is just a waste of time?"

            Kiri shook her head. "Neko, you were born with it, and it won't just go away. You have to take this seriously." She walked to the edge of the bed and sat. Neko felt her head get muzzy and rubbed her temples. Then she noticed the Sakura book was floating in front of her pet. Kiri turned to face Neko, then looked back at the book and said, "Key of the seal, There is someone wishing a contract with you. The daughter, Neko, to whom you are familiar. Oh key, grant her the power! Release!" Neko gasped as a wind picked up and swept her hair into her face. Looking down, she saw a large design glowing on the bedspread at her feet. A ball of light appeared in front of her, and she extended her hand.

            A strange pendent with a star shape in it fell onto her palm and the glowing symbol and the wind died. Neko stared. She recognized this, it had been her mother's. Neko sat down heavily, bouncing a bit on the mattress, and asked, "Kiri, were my parents powerful magicians?"

            Kiri shooed the book away. "They were, but not as strong as some. The most powerful, Eriol, is the reincarnation of the man who originally created the Clow Cards. Sakura, your mother, collected them all and turned them into her own. As her daughter, you could use them temporarily. Soon, however, you will have to do something to seal them to you."

            Neko said nothing. She just studied the pendent for a time and then asked, "Kiri, is there any way for the magic to be—well—less flashy?"

            Kiri paused. "I suppose. Plenty of magicians can use magic without the flare your mother used, but that was more linked to the cards." She tilted her head to the side and said, "I wonder if Clow Reed ever dealt with this." They talked about magic for a time, but eventually Neko went back to work and Kiri resumed her cleaning.

            Their quiet comfort was shattered with the sound of an explosion. Kiri and Neko were on their feet in an instant. "What's that sound?" Neko asked, she felt it in her bones. 

            Kiri blinked her golden eyes. "It's the house's wards, they've been breached."

            Neko bit her lip. "Is it—them? The Kurai?"

            Kiri waited a moment, then nodded. Neko's hand balled into a fist and then she ran from the room. Kiri raced after her shouting, "Wait! The Cards!" Neko stopped, ran back to her room and took out the book. She opened it and snatched the cards before turning tail and racing back down the hall. As she ran downstairs, she was stopped.

            A semi-transparent woman with light brown hair and dazzling green eyes stood on the landing. She wore an unusual gown of green and yellow, and had a cherry blossom pin on her front. Neko stared at her. The woman held up a hand. Neko frowned. "What, you don't want me to go?" The woman said nothing. "But I can't just sit and do nothing!"

            "Neko!" shouted Yuki. The woman vanished and Neko turned to see Yuki coming up the stairs. He looked slightly winded. "Neko, get to the basement, it's heaily shielded and will protect you. Your cousins are already down there, go!" He turned and jumped off the stairs and raced down the hall. 

            Neko was stunned. What was she going to do? "Neko! Let's get going! You're never going to get to change the cards if you just stand here!" Kiri said. Neko broke free from her paralysis and continued down the stairs. She turned towards the front door, but was stopped by an invisible barrier. 

            "Kiri, it's blocked off! I can't get through!" Neko touched the barrier again. "I think…I think it's Grandmother's." She wondered how she could know, but it was an inner voice. 

            Kiri touched it lightly with her paw. "I see. Perhaps we will sit this battle out. Let's go to the basement." They turned and went to the basement as Yuki had told them. Indeed, Neko's entire generation of the family was down there. She slipped into a corner of the vast space and stroked Kiri's back. Kiri wriggled. "Perhaps we should review the Cards so you are prepared for the time when you must call upon them to take their power from you."

            Neko looked at the deck of cards and opened her fingers. The cards flew into the air and formed a rotating ring around her. As she watched them spin, she noticed a small gap after 'The Hope' card. "What card is missing?" she asked. Kiri sat and examined the cards present. 

            "Well, I'm not sure—oh yes! When your parents were young, they had a bit of a problem with 'The Void' card. In the end it was absorbed by your father." Her tail twitched. "I wonder where it is now…"

            Neko hugged her knees and watched the cards go by, Time, Sand, Loop, Sword, Voice… Magic did not need cards, she knew this. If the cards were just a more convenient and organized method to contain these specific aspects of magic, couldn't she just absorb them as her father had done with that other card? Besides, it sounded like the cards were more troublesome free than magic had a right to be. 

            Deciding to try her theory, Neko reached under her shirt and pulled out her star key. Kiri was facing the cards and didn't notice anything until Neko had entered a deep state of meditation. Her breathing all but ceased and her heart slowed. She immersed herself in her magic, and called out to her key.

            "_Oh key of the Cards, honor our contract and unlock to me the powers present. Free the old to become one with the new and grant me dominion over their will."_ Her eyes opened, they were shining a bright emerald green. "Release!!" she said aloud.

            Kiri leapt back as the same symbol as before appeared on the floor below Neko. The girl stared straight ahead as she began to float a few inches above the floor. The Cards circled around her faster, and Kiri stared. What was she doing?


	5. If You Don't Remember, is it Goodbye?

Author's Note: The last of the CCS chappies! After this, we gently fold in some YYH and then wait for the dough to rise until we bake it. My deepest thanks to readers and reviewers alike!

            Yelan looked over the grounds and sighed. It would take days to heal the damage done to the garden and house, but none of the attack force had gotten through. The whole family was walking around, cleaning up and shaking their heads. Some of the beds would have to be dug up and replanted, others just trimmed and neatened up. She looked around and noticed Neko walking off towards the area where the Kurai had broken through.

            Quietly, the woman followed. Neko stopped at the trunk of one of the broken trees and set her cat down. Kiri sat quietly where Neko had left her as the girl walked forward and set her hands on the fallen trunk. Yelan blinked as the tree glowed and then lifted back up and sprouted branches to replace those damaged by the fight. "The Cards are useful, Kiri," Neko said. Yelan smiled. The child had discovered an aspect of magic she could stomach. Perhaps she'd warm up to her lessons now.

            Neko did attend more of her lessons. Her grandmother was pleased to hear she was beginning to improve in her marital arts and fighting skills and had gotten past meditation in her magic studies and was beginning on history and theory. Yelan didn't spend much time with the children, or she would have noticed that Neko had become strangely silent. Her answers would be short and blunt and quiet. She no longer moved with the energy of a youngster, but with the slow and deliberate actions of the elderly and wise. No matter what injustice happened to her, false accusation or otherwise, she didn't anger. She didn't smile much either.

            For Neko, absorbing the Cards had had two side effects she hadn't counted on. The first had been the loss of the book. It had vanished from her room, supposedly because the cards no longer existed. The second had been the loss of her childhood innocence. Neko now knew each of her cards inside and out, and had merged with them in mind as well as power. Anything that had stayed with them from their past masters had come to her. 

            This wasn't all bad, because she now could understand things that had once been beyond her. Her skills with magic were far greater than her teachers could grasp. She didn't hesitate to compare herself to Eriol, the reincarnation of Clow Reed and the most powerful magician on Earth. The patio in the garden was a place of power, where the family commonly practiced magic, and it was a good location to relax and read. She still read in her tree, but that was for her secret books. Neko was now fluent in Chinese and English, and her Latin studies had picked up speed. Currently, she was working on reading an English novel, _The Origin of Species_ by Charles Darwin.

            The more she turned the idea of seeking Hiiragazawa Eriol out in her head, the more it appealed to her. The question was, how to go about it? She could try locating him the old fashioned way, or with magic, or just by send him a request. Neko closed her book and smiled. Yes, she'd send him a personal message asking for an audience. From what she'd heard, he was above the feud between the Li's and the Kurai. Talking to him would be a nice change, might make her feel young again. 

            Neko went upstairs and started to write her message. "Mr. Hiiragazawa, I would feel honored to have an opportunity to speak with you on various matters of interest and perhaps disinterest.  Sincerely, Neko Li." She still signed everything the way she always had, with her family name last. It was a matter of irritation to the rest of the household, but her grandmother had yet to comment on it. 

            With a quick search of her desk drawers, Neko found an unmarked envelope and slipped the letter in. She then opened the window and breathed in the cold air. Winter was almost there, and it would be time soon to send gifts to her friend Aki for her birthday. Neko left the window open to the cold outside air and knelt in front of it and laid the letter on the floor. She closed her eyes and called to her inner spirits, the Cards. "_I call upon The Move to send this letter to the magician Eriol, whose magic you remember well._" The letter sprouted a pair of wings and flew out the window. Neko opened her eyes and rose to shut the window pains. 

            A scratching noise at the door was Kiri asking to be let in. Neko opened the door and Kiri raced past to jump up onto the bed. Neko closed the door and Kiri gave her mistress a calculating look. "I guess you're ready."

            Neko sat on the floor facing her pet. "Ready for what?"

            Kiri's tail swished. "Your Grandmother was talking about putting you through the ceremony to receive your adult powers and take up advanced studies and adult responsibilities. You should be proud of your progress."

            Neko looked at the painting on the back of her door, the one of her parents that she'd done herself from the Cards' memories. She then looked at her reflection in the room's floor to ceiling mirror. Same face as her mother, but her father's eyes and her own unique hair color. Her hair was a bit longer than her mother's had been, it reached just past her shoulders, and her eyes were uncomfortably aware. 

            There was a knock at the door. "Enter," Neko said. Her eldest cousin, Junko, came in. Junko was eighteen and tall and with long, black hair like their grandmother's. She looked grim. 

            "Neko, Grandmother has asked that you get dressed in your battle costume and come to the garden." Neko nodded and waited. Junko didn't leave. "I am to help."

            Neko took the box out from underneath her bed. Junko shook them out and helped Neko in an almost ceremonial way. The final touch was the hat. Junko stood back. "Now take my hand and I will lead you outside." Neko took it and followed her cousin down the stairs, past the curious eyes of the other children, and out of the house.

            The back yard was vacant except for the platform/patio area where all the adults stood. At their head was her grandmother. Junko let Neko's hand go and joined them. Now it was Neko facing her seniors. Yelan held out her fan. "Daughter of magic, you seek to become a master of the gifts tonight. Let the elements hear your plea." Yelan's fan snapped from a vertical to horizontal position. "Call forth your weapon!"

            Neko held out an empty hand and summoned her key. The weight resting in her hand seemed to be too great for the staff her mother had wielded, so she looked down at it. The staff was now taller than she, and was a purple rod with a pink stone glowing at the opposite end with a golden star framed by two wings. She met her slightly surprised grandmother's eyes. Suddenly, a golden bolt came down between them. Everyone jumped back and blinked away the spots left on their vision to see a golden staff stuck in the ground.

            "I'll take it from here, Mrs. Li," said a deep voice. Down floated a man with black hair and a strong presence. He wore black with a few exceptions of deep blue and gold scattered on his form. Behind him landed a giant cat and a woman with butterfly wings. Neko recognized the man immediately. She smiled. 

            "Mr. Hiiragazawa, it's an honor to finally meet you," she said with a bow. 

            He smiled at her. "It's been a while since I believed the Cards would ever meet an end. They were convenient if kept under control, but could become unruly or a threat if allowed free." He easily removed his staff from the ground and turned to face Yelan. "I believe I will need Neko for a time, she is beyond what you could teach her, and despite this, has much yet to learn." Neko felt arms around her and looked up. Ruby Moon picked her up and set her on Spinner Sun's back. 

            They flew over China for a long time. Neko felt herself grow tired and struggled to stay awake. Eventually, she succumbed and fell asleep.

            Eriol sighed with relief. It had taken a lot of power to charm her into sleep. She was truly too strong for her age. Neko had figured out how to control the cards, but too soon. She had lost her youth to the power, and in the coming battle she would need the strengths of a girl, her loves and her hates. He knew the only way to make her ready for the final battle with the Kurai was to make her forget magic and her family and live like a normal child. To do this, she would have to go somewhere no one would recognize her.

            They arrived at his mansion and he picked up her limp body and staff. He held out a hand and shrunk the staff back to its pendent form. As long as it wasn't with the Cards she wouldn't be able to call on their power. He made it smaller and enclosed it in a golden locket that hung from a gray ribbon around her neck. Admiring his handiwork, Eriol summoned the guardians he'd created for Neko.

            Kiri and Sapphire appeared in their true forms. Kiri was a grey tiger with silver stripes and Sapphire had blue scaly wings like a dragon and glowing eyes of the same blue color. Eriol held his staff aloft. A light shined down on the three and Neko's battle costume dissolved into a blue school uniform and Kiri became a regular cat again and Sapphire became an older man wearing a dark blue suit and tie. Together, they vanished.

            As Eriol sat, he appeared in his favorite chair in the next room, Ruby Moon and Spinner Sun on either side. Leaning back, he said, "She won't remember a thing, and hopefully I chose the right world to send her to."

            "I have no doubt you did," Spinner assured his master. Eriol was concerned, because he wasn't so sure.


	6. Daydreams with Kittens

Author's Note: As before, a second helping for you in one day. It's vacation week so I've had the time. Hopefully I will be able to get even further ahead before Monday crashes down to end my beautiful 'me' time. ::sigh::

            Yusuke stared up at the sky as a cloud formed and then dissolved again. School sucked. If it weren't for all the nagging people in his life he wouldn't bother, all he needed to survive were his wits and fists—his powers as spirit detective were helpful too. The door to the roof opened and he waited to hear Kayko's voice carp at him for skipping class.

            Silence. He shifted his gaze from the sky to the door and saw a strange girl walking over to the edge of the roof. He began to get a sinking feeling in his stomach as she climbed up onto the railing meant to keep people from falling. "Hey kid! Just what do you think you're doing?" he called, getting to his feet.

            The girl turned and he saw she was young, probably a freshman. Her hair had a strange purple tinge to it, and it reached down to her elbows. Loose bangs fluttered in the air around her face. She had light brown eyes, sad eyes. She looked out at the city again and said, "I'm just here for the view. It's something I make myself do every now and then to combat my fear of heights." She looked back at him. "And what are you doing here? Skipping another class, Yusuke?"

            He crossed his arms and his mouth quirked up in a half smile. "So you've heard of me?" he said.

            She smiled. "I only arrived yesterday and already know that you're the most feared bully in school. Your attendance record after junior high has gotten better, though." She hopped down and walked right up to him. Yusuke glared down at her as she stared up at him. "You know," she said after a careful inspection, "I don't think you're half as bad as people say you are."

            "Get away from him, Demon!" shouted a male voice. They turned and Yusuke recognized his companion, Kuwabara. The red head was glaring threateningly at the new girl.

            Yusuke gave her another look, but found nothing inhuman about her. "Kuwabara, did you eat school food again?" he asked. Of course, it was also his way of telling Kuwabara to drop the subject of demons.

            The not-so-swift punk blinked and then looked thoughtful. "Uh, yes."

            Yusuke sighed and shook his head. 

            "Why did you call me a demon?" the girl asked. Yusuke gave her a sharp look. Usually people just dismissed the odd things that happened, like Kuwabara's outburst. Why was she not forgetting about it?

            Kuwabara held up his hands in a shrug. "Well, your energy is really high, and that hair certainly isn't normal. It's like Botan and her hair, not human really." Then he winced and looked at Yusuke. "@#$&!"

            Yusuke turned the girl around and looked into her eyes. "You're going to forget what that lug head just said to you…now!" he snapped his fingers and she closed her eyes and fell forward. He caught her and set her on the roof carefully. 

            Kuwabara was red in the face. "Lug head! Now you see here, Urameshi!"

            Yusuke waved a hand and made for the door. 

            Neko sat down in the cafeteria and scowled at her lunch. Opening it up, she found the same thing she'd had since kindergarten(or so she thought). There was a serving of applesauce, a bag of crackers and carrot sticks, and a sandwich. At the bottom was a thermos, beat up and small, but precious. Inside was her favorite part of the meal, her milkshake. Everything was made with love by her father early in the morning before she was even awake. He seemed to spend all his time at work. 

            She was nibbling on a cracker when someone sat down beside her and set their tray down firmly. "Hi! Welcome to Sarayashiki High School. I'm Kayko." Her brown eyes were warm and friendly, reminiscent of someone Neko had known…

            Neko smiled back. "I'm Neko Li, it's nice to meet you." She looked at the rest of the table and noticed two guys were sitting at the opposite end. One wore a green uniform, the other a red, against the school's rules.

            Kayko followed Neko's glance and scowled. "Yusuke! Don't be a loner, come sit over here so I can introduce you to the new student!"

            Neko blinked as Yusuke and his red-head companion sat. Strange, both wore uniforms of a different color from the other boys. The tall one had red hair and fascinating green eyes. When she met Yusuke's eyes, she got a sinking feeling in her stomach and her head began to buzz. Yes, she recognized him, he'd sent her to sleep on the roof after his friend shouted something about a demon. Kayko was handling the introductions.

            "This is Kurama, he's new to the school as well. The one in green is Yusuke, you'll find he has quite the reputation, but he's really not that bad."

            Yusuke glared at Kayko. "I'm not going to have much of a reputation if you keep telling everyone that!" he said.

            Neko looked at her lunch and said quietly, "You wouldn't hurt Kayko, and you won't hurt me, so I'll ignore the gossip." Her three companions stared at her. She blushed. "Sorry, that sounded rather odd didn't it?"

            Kurama gave his new classmate a closer look. Kuwabara had returned to class fuming and mumbling something about demons, this girl had a strong spirit energy, but had no sign of demonic powers. She looked rather cute, actually. Maybe she was like Kuwabara, naturally attuned to the spirit world. In a fight, if trained, she could become a powerful ally. Then he thought of the fourth member of the crew of supernatural crime fighters and rejected the idea of getting the girl training. Hiei wouldn't stand for it, he respected Yusuke and Kuwabara, but they were a special case.

            Lunch passed with Yusuke and Kayko doing most of the talking, or arguing depending on how you looked at it. Neko got up to toss away her trash and Kurama joined her.

            On their way back, she said, "They sound so…odd. They can't be in each other's presence for a moment without arguing, and yet I can't help but get the feeling that they're not really angry…"

            Kurama said in his calm and quiet voice, "What is obvious to others isn't so clear to them. They sound married to me."

            Neko paused in her step. Kuarama glanced over at her and noticed a pained expression. She resumed her pace and said, "Yes, I guess they do sound married." The bell rang and she ran off.

            Neko sat in her tree house and stroked her cat's fur. She closed her eyes and hummed a favorite song, then looked down at her lap because Kiri's fur felt longer. She gasped. It was a human head! Kiri's gray back had been replaced with soft, black hair attached to the body of a young man facing away from her. He began to turn his head…

            Her eyes snapped open and she looked around. She was back in her room, not a tree house, and in her lap lay a very grumpy cat. Neko smiled. "Sorry, Kiri, bad dream." The cat shook her head, rose, and left Neko's lap to curl up on the windowsill. Neko got off the bed and looked at the clock. It was only about five. Maybe she had enough time to go out and buy another book, she'd just finished the last one.

            Neko ran downstairs and looked around. Her dad wouldn't be home for another two hours if it was a normal day. She grabbed some money and her keyes. About half way down her street, she realized she had no idea where the local bookstore was. Neko ran to a nearby pay phone and leafed through the phone book. She found a couple of stores that sounded interesting and continued on her way.

            In no time she was hopelessly lost. The buildings seemed to form a maze around her that changed every time she tried to backtrack. Neko looked at her watch. Forget the bookstore, she had to get home. She decided to head due west towards the setting sun and then find some help. This was a big mistake.


	7. A Magical Girl Meets the Demonic World

Author's Note: Only one new chapter tdy folks, I have work to do. Maybe I'll get another one out this week, but Thurs. I'm flying away and not returning until Tues. Oh, and thanks to Staci for pointing out a little booboo on my part. At school, Kurama is Suiichi Minamino, his human name. My bad!

            Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Hiei ran down the street to the park. During their last class Kuwabara had insisted he felt something menacing growing in that direction. Now they were chasing a demon by the name of Loki, a fairly disreputable character whose true form was unknown. At the moment he looked like an old man—who runs unusually fast. "Hiei, do you think you can get in front of him?" Yusuke shouted. Hiei narrowed his crimson eyes at his prey and disappeared.

            Neko scowled and looked up. It had gotten dark, and was close to six thirty. She had wandered into a wooded area, maybe the park or outskirts of town, but her head was beginning to get that fuzzy feeling. She heard pounding feet before she saw the demon. He was the size of a child, but he had six horns crowded on his forehead that oozed blood so it ran down his face. She almost threw up at the sight of him because her stomach lurched from the corruption of his spirit energy. She was so disoriented, she didn't have the strength to run when he picked her up.

            Hiei cut in front of Loki and stopped, his sword drawn and ready to go. What he saw baffled him. A girl with purple hair and dressed in an odd combination of jeans and a dress-like shirt was caught in the old guy's arms. Sweat was pouring down her face and she was breathing hard. Loki grinned and held a hand up near her throat. "Don't get too close, Boys, or the girl dies!" he threatened.

            Hiei looked over the demon's shoulder and saw the rest of his company standing there, unsure if they should move. Kurama crouched and prepared to spring up at the demon from above. As he leapt into the air, the girl in Loki's arms convulsed. "Head—horns!" she cried, her eyes mere slit which quickly closed up again as her head fell forward.

            Kurama managed to change direction and hit the demon's shoulder instead of his head. Loki just laughed as the attack bounced right off him. Hiei looked at the hostage closely. Her spirit energy was under a tremendous strain of some sort, chaotic in its movements near her skin where it seemed to cling. Was there something restraining it? He didn't think Loki had the power to place controls on another person's energy.

            Loki tilted his hostage's head back and traced a nail along her neck. "Since I can't seem to get away, I might as well go out full!" He nicked her throat with his nail and bent his head down.

            "No!" shouted Yusuke. He aimed his finger at the brute and prepared to fire. 

            Kuwabara grabbed Yusuke's hand and said, "Wait! Look!" He pointed. Yusuke and the others looked at the girl Loki was feeding off of.

            Something around her started to glow. A light appeared at her throat. Loki screeched and dropped her. "What the hell?!" he shouted, half his face burned.

            A locket on a ribbon around her neck was glowing with a golden light. A symbol, clear to Hiei and Kurama, but simply a round circle to the humans, appeared on her forehead. She floated to the ground and the glow died.

            No one moved for a while, then Kurama came forward and bound Loki so he couldn't escape. The poor demon wasn't likely to run off, he was trembling so bad he couldn't stand and had lost control of his illusion so his true form was clear. Yes, there were sharp horns in his head that could have seriously wounded Kurama if he'd hit them.

            Yusuke went to the girl. He frowned at her face and brushed her bangs aside. "Hey! It's that new girl from school! Uh, Neko—that's her name."

            Kuwabara and Kurama came over. "Yup, she is," Kuwabara said. Then he gave Yusuke a smug look and said, "I told you she was a demon."

            Hiei knelt by the girl's side and turned her head to the side so he could see her neck wound. It bled sluggishly. "She's no demon, or Loki wouldn't have tried to feed on her energy." He got a grim feeling of satisfaction from Kuwabara's wince. To drive the wound deeper, he asked, "Don't you agree, Kurama?"

            Kurama paused a moment before answering. "Yes, but she is unique in her energy's potency and nature. It is unlike anything I have ever seen on a human." He looked at Loki and said, "Perhaps we should take her with us to see Botan. At the least her neck could be healed and her memory corrected."

            Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, maybe Botan can help with that. Think she's home?" He started to walk away and the others made to follow. Hiei was just about to step over Neko when Yusuke turned and said, "Hiei, since you're right there, why don't you carry Neko? If one of us did, we'd just slow everyone down." Hiei glared at Yusuke, but the others were already leaving. Hiei scowled at the wench at his feet and picked her up. 

            Neko's head rested heavily against his shoulder as he caught up with his slightly taller companions. What was the big idea? They knew he didn't like humans. Humans were weak, ignorant, unable to survive in extreme situations. Of course there were those who were exceptions, like Yusuke and his red-headed friend. Thoughts like these dominated Hiei's mind during the stroll to Botan's apartment. They got a few stares, but people went about their business uncaring. 

            Botan answered the door with a smile. "Hel-lo!" she said in a singsong voice. "What's up?"

            Yusuke gestured towards the fuming Hiei behind him. "We found Loki, but he'd taken this girl from school." Botan ushered them all in and closed the door. Hiei looked around for a couch or somewhere to put the girl down. 

            "Hmm…nice…" mumbled Neko. Hiei looked down at her in surprise. Locating a couch in front of the TV, he set her down. As he straightened, he turned to see everyone staring at him. 

            "What?" he said crossly.

            Botan looked him up and down. "Hiei, when was your last growth spurt? You're taller."

            Hiei looked down at himself and _almost_ gasped. His clothes were too small. Looking at the others, he noticed he could look Yusuke in the eye. He suddenly got a feeling of pleasure, from something which had nothing to do with making another person suffer. It was an odd thing, but he liked the change.

            Kurama looked past Hiei at Neko. "Perhaps she is the source." They then all crowded around Botan's couch and conveyed to her the events of Loki's capture with the demon curled up in the corner as Botan healed Neko's wound.

Botan frowned when she was done and said, "Perhaps she has a former spirit detective as a parent? There are dozens of possible reasons for her to have such unusual spirit energy, but I would think Koenma would have taken notice. Such power as you describe is new to me. Maybe I'll ask when I bring Loki up." She cleaned up Neko's top and tried to wake her up.

"Neko, Neko, you need to wake up!" she shouted in the girl's ear. No response, not a twitch. Each of them gave it a try, except for Hiei who had gone off to the side after the healing so he could meditate and try and organize his abilities within his taller self. As he did this, his clothes grew and covered him once more. When he opened his eyes forty minutes later, the others were distractedly dripping ice water on Neko's face.

"Could we just take her home?" Kuwabara asked. "Take her to her room and let her parents wake her up."

Botan looked worried. "I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe Loki started to feed on her soul and it got damaged? Whatever is wrong, we should do something about it before her parents find out." She leaned her chin on her hands. "Besides, to wipe away her memory of this I need to be able to catch her mind through her eyes, and I can't do that is she's asleep."

Yusuke snorted. "I've tried it and it didn't work. Is there another way you know to do it?"

Botan shook her head. "No, but it should work unless she's being protected against memory alteration." She checked her watch and stood. "It's just after seven, I should take Loki in soon." She walked over to the curled-up demon and both faded. Hiei watched her fly off outside with the demon in tow, then looked back into the room.

The other guys were still huddled around the girl trying to wake her up. Ten minutes later, Kurama was gazing out the window, Kuwabara was snoring in the corner, Yusuke was trying to balance the remote on one finger, and Hiei sat at the opposite end of the couch, glaring at the possible source of his growth spurt. His inner reflection had revealed he was stronger and faster than ever, and his spirit energy had reached a new level. But why? How?

Curious, Hiei got up and over to the end of the couch where Neko's head was. She looked like she was asleep. Their previous attempts to wake her had proven otherwise, but how do you wake someone up from an unnatural sleep? Hiei cast a quick look around the room to make sure no one would notice if his idea failed, and leaned down.

He rested his lips on the spot on her neck where Loki had cut her. Almost instantly he felt her body tense up and he backed away. Her breathing quickened and her hands flexed. Hiei looked up and noticed the other three were looking at him in wonder. He got a smug sense of satisfaction and sat back. The girl stretched and sat up. As she turned and dropped her feet to the floor, her eyes opened.

Neko sat up and turned to stand. Her eyes fell on a strange guy sitting on his knees in front of her. She then stared at his hair. Yes, it was the same boy as the one in her dream! Just now she had been submerged in a world of scents. She'd been a passenger of some kind, carried around by someone who'd passed lots of other people. At the end, she had been mostly alone with this other person and had gotten to know their scent well. 

Just now she could smell it again. It had woken her up, and now she knew it was this—boy? young man?—who was the source of this spicy and warm aroma. As she noticed this the scent faded in everything but memory. Neko's attention was shifted when someone stepped between her and the stranger. She looked up and saw someone familiar, Yusuke. "So you're awake," he said.

Neko looked around and spotted a couple of other boys from school. Then she saw the clock on the TV, it read seven thirty. She felt panic grip her heart. Neko jumped to her feet. "I've got to go! My dad's probably home by now and he'll throw a fit if I'm not there!" She started for the door, but at that moment, it opened and a young woman came in. She had light blue hair and pink eyes, and looked strange. Neko frowned. It was like she had double vision that overlapped. 

The woman smiled and Neko realized she was much younger than she had seemed. "Hi! I'm Botan! I'm so glad you're awake."

Neko looked back at the guys in the apartment and then back at Botan. "Um, I'm Neko. Is this your apartment?"

Botan nodded, closed the door, and Neko found herself being guided back into the kitchen. Botan put Neko in a seat and then rushed about making some tea. "Don't worry about your folks, I left them a message that you were over here. What kind of tea would you like?"

Neko blinked. "Uh, lemon." Botan opened a package, stuck the tea bag in a mug and set the kettle on the stove. Then Neko found a plate of cookies in front of her and Botan sat down beside her and smiled. 

"You must feel rather odd after having a demon feed on you and waking up in a strange room," Botan said, as if trying to make light conversation.

Neko still felt a little confused. "Um, yes, it is a little different from what I'm used to. Do you know what's going on? One minute I'm looking for a book store, the next I'm in some wooded area and feel so sick I pass out." She paused and said, "That is, after that oozing mess picked me up. What happened to him?"

Botan smiled. "Oh, the guys took care of him! They were chasing him and you just happened to cross the demon's path."

Yusuke had been listening from the doorway and decided to ask, "Botan, why are telling her all this? Aren't we supposed to try and keep her from knowing any more?"

The kettle whistled and Botan went over to pour the water. "I talked with Koenma and he had some interesting news." She set the mug in front of Neko, who stared at it as if it were hot mud. Botan didn't seem to notice and just turned to face the guys in the doorway. "It seems Neko is the first human magician."


	8. Just Jumping All Over the Place

Author's Note: Ha! Guess what? I had time to write today! Since my parents won't know I wasn't writing either of the papers I have to do or the like, it is safe to assume that for today at least there is more to the story. Oh, and thank-you to Empress Satori, Nakoruru, Thorn, and Staci for reviewing and encouragement! It's appreciated J

            Yusuke looked at the back of Neko's head, just two seats away. How was it that those above had failed to realize there was a human girl with magical powers growing up down here? Botan had asked Neko a lot of questions about her parents and her family, uncovering a lot of nothing. Neko's family was all gone with the exception of her father. Yusuke felt sort of bad for her, having grown up with a mother and no father. Judging from Neko's lack of reaction when they found her house empty, she didn't see her father much. 

            After dropping her off, Botan had explained that it was Koenma's wish that they include Neko in their cases as a novice spirit detective. Hiei had looked ready to blow his top, but when Botan explained Koenma planned to train Neko independently for a time, he settled  down. Yusuke yawned and stretched. Why was he even here? He'd gotten into high school by the skin of his teeth, but college wasn't in his future, so why try too hard?

            "Wake up, Mr. Urameshi!" shouted the teacher. Yusuke looked at the grizzled old man frowning at him over two pairs of glasses. 

            Yusuke was tempted to just walk out, but his eyes were caught by Kayko's and he decided if he liked living he'd stay. Plenty of time to knock heads after school, it was a Friday.

            Neko ran up to her room and dumped her book bag on the bed. Botan had told her to dress in loose clothing and to pack a couple of extra sets just in case. She was rather excited to have something so special and secret to do. Pausing in her preparation, Neko went to the mirror and looked at her reflection. 

            Her eyes shined back at her, light brown, but she was sure that sometimes they looked green. She grabbed a brush and ran it through her hair. It was almost to her elbows now, and she had to braid it to keep it out of her way during martial arts training with her father. What was she going to tell him? 'Hi Dad, I'm a sorceress going to train with the grim reaper?' She sighed and stroked her necklace. It was an old locket, supposedly from her mother. No matter how she'd tried, she couldn't open it, but now she wondered if keeping it on would be a good idea. What if something happened to it?

            Her fingers slowly reached up and pulled at the knot holding the ribbon together. It took some time, but she eventually got it out and slipped the pendent off her skin. She set it aside and looked at herself again. She rubbed her throat, feeling slightly naked without her locket. Her hand hovered over the necklace, but she snatched it back.

            With renewed conviction, Neko grabbed her duffle bag and shoved a few items in and left the room. She stopped on her way out to leave a note for her father and a message on his voice mail just in case. As she walked out the door, she felt something slide across her leg. She looked down at Kiri and smiled. Kneeling, she looked her cat in the eye and said, "I've got to go somewhere for a few days, you take care of dad, okay?" Kiri mewed and Neko gave her a final pat before closing the door.

            Neko walked down the block and traced her steps from the past day to East Street, then she turned left and headed directly into the park. Botan had said she'd meet her near one of the ponds in the back next to the woods. She could feel her pace quicken as she neared her desired location. This was going to be an adventure like no girl had ever had before.

            "Neko? You ready?" asked Botan. Neko looked up and saw Botan floating in the air on a paddle.

            Neko blinked. "You're flying," she said.

            Botan smiled. "And so will you when your training is done, or at least you'll be able to levitate for short periods of time." She held out a hand. "Grab a hold and I'll take us to Koenma's palace." Neko latched on and they flew off.

            Hiei looked at his reflection and scowled. How? He was a fully grown demon, now this? It wasn't like he resented being a bit taller, but he'd made his peace with it long ago. Now he needed to replace some things and reorganize. It was a damned inconvenience, probably because he'd spent too much time around humans. Of course, they could prove quite amusing at times. 

            Right now he planned to go to his special meditation chamber and practice. His mind had been unusually noisy after that last case and he needed to maintain a cool calm to be in top form. He locked the door and sat down in the middle of the floor. The room was completely empty, no lights or cushions or windows. Hiei cleared his mind and drew his sword.

            In the complete lack of light, he relied on his jagan for sight. As his sword crossed in front of his face, there was an unexpected flash and a vision overtook him. He could get visions when he was deep in meditation, but to have one so abruptly was unusual. This was his first thought, then he could only stand rock still, stunned. He saw his sister, Yukina, for the briefest second as always, but the vision didn't end there. There was a rush of sound and color and he was dropped into a strange scene. A child was running around a torturous playground set in a grassy field. Hiei was surprised at how closely the boy resembled him, except he wasn't him. Hiei couldn't remember a time when his eyes were ever that open and trusting. Then a silhouette of a woman appeared falling from the sky. As the figure same close enough for colors to begin to discern themselves as lighter and darker, there was a flash and Hiei was once again in the darkness of his meditation chamber.

            Neko felt like crying. Koenma had locked her up in a magicked house in Spirit World. She couldn't get out, and the rooms kept switching! If she was going to train here, she'd need a schedule to tell her what was where and when. Neko had entered her first room oblivious to the fact that it was moving until she tried to go back to the entrance hall. Now she was staring at her tenth door. "I want out!" she said to it harshly. Her hands were fists, ready to break the door down. She grabbed the knob in a last attempt and opened the door.

            It led back to the entrance. Neko cheered and ran for the front door. Her joy was short lived, because when she grabbed the handle, it threw her back into the opposite wall. She groaned and started to get back on her feet. A hand appeared in front of her and she looked up at its owner. A child-like person sucking on a pacifier stood in front of her. "You've passed the first test, I'm proud. From now on it won't be so easy."

            Neko got to her feet and picked up her bag. "You're Koenma?"

            He looked up at her. "How'd you guess?"

            Neko shrugged. "Yusuke said you looked about four, and the pacifier gave you away for sure." She could see this bothered him and decided to change the subject. "So what comes next?"

            Koenma pointed behind her and instead of a door, there was a hall. "At the end of that hall is a gym, I'll meet you there." He disappeared and Neko gaped. 

            "I hope I get to learn to do that," she said. She started down the dark hall and whistled to herself. As she walked, a higher pitch came to her ears and she stopped. What was that? The next moment, a shining disk was coming straight for her. Neko ducked and it continued passed. "What the heck was that?" Then she heard more whining and faced forward. A giant saw blade stuck up from the floor and started turning as a rumbling sound grew louder from behind. A quick glance told her the hall was collapsing and she ran forward to leap over the blade. As she landed, a spike jabbed up right next to her foot. She leapt away and looked up as a blade stuck out of the wall and swung at her midriff in a wide arc. The rumbling continued. "I'm going to kill that kid!" she screamed as she turned to face the hall and her next challenge.

            Yusuke sat on the bench and watched as people passed. The sudden rush of detective cases had slowed during the past month or so, and he enjoyed the time he spent on his own with no one to bother him. It was such a peaceful Sunday afternoon…

            "Hey! Give it back!" shouted a woman in the crowd. Yusuke turned his head and saw a man running towards him with a woman close behind. That guy didn't have a chance, he was practically stumbling over his feet—all three of them. The untrained eye would see two, but Yusuke could spot a third foot keeping time with the other two. The result looked awkward, but it was fast. Yusuke got up with a sigh and strolled out in front of the purse snatcher. 

            The guy collided with him and fell to the ground. The demon rubbed his head and glared at Yusuke. Just then, the woman caught up and grabbed her purse. She looked ready to scream, but just huffed and walked away. The demon stood up and dusted himself off, allowing Yusuke to inspect him. Yup, three legs, but one was somewhat transparent, so normal humans wouldn't be able to see it. "So what made you leave home?" Yusuke asked.

            His latest case looked at him suspiciously. "What is it to ya?"

            Yusuke smiled. "Oh, just wondering what a demon is doing snatching women's purses."

            The guy bolted. Yusuke sneered and ran after him. They started weaving around less populated streets and entered a back alley. The demon stopped at the end of the street and turned. His human appearance vanished and his skin turned blue. "You want a fight, Spirit Detective?" it asked. Yusuke stretched and grinned. The blue demon held up his hands and fire balls appeared. "Ready to die?" It threw them at Yusuke.

            Yusuke managed to deflect them using his spirit energy like a protective glove. "Is that the best you can do?" he taunted. The demon gave him a toothy grin and stepped aside. There was three smaller demons standing behind it. Then it moved to the side again and three more appeared. Yusuke blinked. Soon there were twelve new demons to fight. He prepared himself for a shotgun blast.

            "Attack!" the demon shouted. The miniature copies jumped all over, scattering to attack Yusuke from all sides. Two fell to the ground with a squeal and turned to smoke. Yusuke and the demon looked up to see Kurama and Hiei on one of the fire escapes.

            "Mind if we join in?" Kurama said. The two demons leapt and joined Yusuke on the ground. Yusuke looked at Hiei and figured he'd never get used to seeing him eye-to-eye. 

            "You'll all perish! Forward!" the demon cried. It ran in circles now, demons appearing and leaping away just as he returned to the spot to create more. Yusuke and his friends were hard pressed to keep up with the endless stream of demons. He was thinking of using a wide range attack to give them a breather, when a black hole laced with green lightning appeared above the alley. 

            A dark figure fell out of it. Kurama frowned. "That's a portal to Spirit World," he said. Yusuke beat away another blue face and looked at the newcomer. Was it help for them or the demon?

            "Arrow!" cried a female voice, and a shining blue bow appeared in the stranger's hands. She pointed it at the big, blue demon and let loose and arrow of blue light. The demon cried out and tried to incinerate the shot with a fireball, but the arrow went right through to hit it in the chest. The demon fell back and pulled at the shaft to try and remove it. The glowing bow vanished and the arrow in the demon did as well.

            The stranger walked over and held her hands over the monster. It shrieked and disappeared. She clapped her hands and turned to smile at Yusuke and his friends. "Hi! Long time no see."

            Yusuke thought he'd gag. "Neko?!" he said in disbelief. Her clothes were rags wrapped around and tied on with string. Her purple hair was a nest, and her face was smudged with brown and black. 

            She came over and crossed her arms. "I just got a week of rest to come and attend school. Koenma has been running me through his house of terrors to teach me magic." Her eyes narrowed at an unseen target. "First came the moving rooms, then the hall of pointy and sharp objects with the occasional flying blade for variety. I just finished a hellish version of an archery tournament." She closed her eyes and swallowed. "I think he's testing my stomach as well as my magic."

            Kurama watched her carefully. She looked exhausted, and her spirit energy was low. Suddenly her eyes closed and she began to fall like a puppet with the strings cut. Instantly, Hiei was by her side. He caught her and picked her up with his blank expression showing nothing. Among strangers this would pass as indifference, but to Yusuke and Kurama, it was a red flag in Hiei body language. "Let's get her home. When she wakes up we can ask her what she did to Buram," Hiei said.

            Yusuke smiled. "That thing's name was Buram? Hunh, never heard of him." He turned and lead the way while Kurama and Hiei shared a look and shook their heads. Yes, Yusuke was a human. Sometimes his arrogance and powers made it hard to believe, but every now and then he'd find some way to remind them. Kuwabara didn't usually require a reminder, opening his mouth was typically enough.

            They brought Neko to her house and found the doors unlocked and no one home. "What does her father do?" Kurama asked Yusuke as they wandered around looking for something to clean up the scratches Hiei had noticed on Neko's hands. 

            Yusuke shrugged. "Dunno. No doubt something that pays well, this place is nice." There was art everywhere, and an underlying theme of playing cards in almost every piece. "Hey, maybe he's a high-stakes gambler," Yusuke joked. He found a bottle of rubbing alcohol under the kitchen sink along with a bag of cotton balls and various bandages.

            He was on his way back to the living room when he spotted Kurama peeking around the corner of the hall. As Yusuke approached, Kurama held up a finger to his lips and the spirit detective slowly crept up and looked into the living room.

            Hiei sat on the couch next to Neko's head. He'd propped her head up with a pillow and was frowning at the wall. The scandalous thing was, one of his hands was leisurely stroking her mussed hair. The two peeping Toms held their breath as Neko's eyes fluttered open and Hiei's hand leapt back to his side. She looked at him and smiled a small smile. "…home," was all the two could hear of Neko's whisper. Then her eyes went to the hall. "You two can come out now."

            Kurama and Yusuke came walking calmly out as if they had been minding their own business. Hiei's cold glare told them he suspected something, but Neko's eyes weren't judging. "Brought something for those scratches of yours," Yusuke said. He knelt and opened the bottle.

            Neko tried to sit up, but Hiei's hand reached out and pulled her back down. She glared daggers at him, but said nothing. Hiei glared back. Kurama and Yusuke were content to watch this battle, but Hiei eventually growled, "Are you going to stand there like idiots or are you going to be useful?" Yusuke snorted his indifference to Hiei's gruff manner and applied some alcohol to Neko's scratches. She winced and lost the showdown.


	9. Who is Kennichi?

Author's Note: I'm back from hell! (Florida) and this lil' northern girl found paradise a bit too humid and hot for her taste. I can't wait to go to Alaska… Oh, and Nakoruru, I know I slipped up, but that's because in the real world people with orange hair are called redheads. Sorry about that.

            The next weekend Neko returned to Spirit World and resumed her training. Once in a while Koenma would pop in and give her a few hints, but he was usually absent, leaving her to figure it out on her own. Later, Neko figured out that Koenma had never known a true magician before and her training was basically things he only knew in theory from demonic mages. Her father seemed oblivious to his daughter's absence. When she returned, beaten and battered, it was to an empty house regardless of when she arrived. By the time she woke up for school Monday, he would already be up and making breakfast with his usual brisk morning energy. She didn't see many of her own features in him, but he had pictures of her mom that made it clear that there wasn't much room left for him.

            When Neko returned each weekend, it was always in plenty of time for her to rest up for school. She suspected that there was some kind of time flux Koenma was using to assist her in her training, giving her a week in her house of tortures for each day she was gone from the living world. Kuwabara was the first to sense this. 

            He was sitting with Yusuke outside before class on Monday when Neko walked by. She didn't stop to wave to them, just stumbled into the building. Yusuke sighed and shifted his position a bit against the wall. "Urameshi, have you noticed anything strange about Neko?"

            Yusuke looked at Kuwabara doubtfully. "Did you get hit in the head again? Of course she's strange, she's a magician."

            Kuwabara shook his head. "Not that. Every time she comes back from one of her lessons with the kid she's changed. Bit by bit her energy is shifting, like yours did when you went off to train with Genkai." To Yusuke's shock, Kuwabara looked serious. "I think she's aged a few months on us."

            That afternoon, Yusuke watched Neko in math and decided Kuwabara was right. Neko carried herself in a more aware way, she acted more mature and began to take class work more seriously. She still laughed with her friends and chatted it up like the best of them, but she was still…off.

            The real shock came when Yusuke was called down to the principal's office. "What now? I haven't done anything!" Yusuke muttered as he trudged down the hall. As he approached, the door opened and Hiei walked out—wearing a black uniform.

            "_Hiei?!_" Yusuke said. The demon looked at Yusuke and calmly walked past.

As he did so, he whispered, "Botan sent me a message from Koenma. One of your classmates is an earth demon." Yusuke watched Hiei walked down the hall and blinked. Why send in Hiei? Wasn't three out of four—no—four out of five, good enough to track down a single demon? It would have to be someone new, but who?

            "Mr. Urameshi," said a voice from the office. Yusuke jumped to attention and went in.

            Hiei looked at the schedule he'd been given. The school principal had been easily duped without uncovering his jagan(third eye on forehead), a testament to humanity's weakness. He knocked on a door and went in. He took his time looking over the class before the teacher fixed his glasses and asked, "May I help you?" Hiei handed the man the principal's note and took a seat in back. The teacher set the note on his desk and said, "Just sit in back…okay, you've already done that." He held out a hand towards Hiei and said, "Class, this is Hiei Flame, our new student."

            Heads turned, and Hiei managed to scare the curious onlookers off with a sweeping glare with the exception of one. Light brown eyes clashed with red ones from across the room. Hiei felt his control of his emotions slip a moment and his breath caught. So, _she_ was in this class. The teacher tapped his pointer on Neko's desk and she turned around. Hiei sat back and mused about his need to be there.

            Botan's message then came to mind. "_Hiei, Koenma wants you to enroll at Sarayashiki High to fish out an earth demon we believe has taken to hiding amongst the students."_

_            Hiei had looked up momentarily from his study of an ancient demonic text and said, "Forget it, the other three are in there already."_

_            Botan wasn't finished, though. "He's a renegade from Spirit World, an honor-less demon who is known to most as Kennichi—"_

The mention of that name had sold him. Hiei guessed that Koenma knew of the history he had with the infamous "Kennichi." It made Hiei's blood boil to think that demon was living freely as an innocent human. He'd agreed on the spot. The next thing he knew, he was standing in a fully furnished apartment with the school address on a piece of paper sitting on the kitchen table. 

            At the bell, Hiei filed out of the class with the rest of the students and looked at his schedule for the next room. Neko was in that class as well. When the last bell of the day rang, Hiei smelled something rotten—figuratively speaking. Why was he so conveniently in all the same classes as that girl? Her presence bothered him, breaking his concentration. Granted one or two of the others was in a few of the classes, but why Neko? 

            Kurama, Kuwabara, Yusuke and Botan were waiting outside when Hiei joined them. Botan winked. "How do you like high school?" she asked.

            Hiei glared daggers at her. "I think I would do a better job just spying on the students than being one. Just consider my schedule as a sign." He handed it to her and the other three looked over her shoulders. Yusuke finished first. 

            "Hey! You're in all the same classes as Neko!" he said. 

            "What about me?" Hiei turned and saw Neko standing behind him. Her gaze switched from Yusuke to Hiei and became challenging. "Why'd you come here?"

            Botan stood between them and said, "Hold on! We've got a new mission and he's here to help, so keep the staring contests to a minimum." Neko huffed and marched over to the wall. With seemingly little effort, she hopped up onto the ten-foot brick wall and looked at Botan expectantly.

            Kuwabara frowned. "Hey! How'd you do that?"

            Neko arched an eyebrow and smiled teasingly. "I'm a magician, it's easy once you get the hang of it." She looked back to Botan. "Well? What's going on?"

            Botan blinked. "Uh, right. Well, there's this earth demon Koenma has been tracking for years. Well, trying to track really, our latest informant claimed he'd taken on a human form and our sources led us here."

            Yusuke looked lost. "Why would such an intelligent demon hide in our school? It doesn't make sense."

            Botan held up a hand. "Ah, it does if it has who you're looking for." They waited. "We don't know who just yet." (If this were a more anime-like fic I'd have them fall over right now, but I just don't write like that.) The assembled spirit detectives then realized that was all the information they were to get.

            Hiei spun on his heal and walked away. Neko hung her legs over the other side of the fence and jumped down. The others made ready to go, but Botan grabbed a hold of Yusuke's collar and said, "You three hold up, there's more that I'm not telling you while Hiei and Neko are around." Now they were interested. She leaned forward conspiratorially and said, "We have some idea of who it is Kennichi is looking for—either Hiei, his old rival; or Neko, the first human magician."

            Yusuke leaned back. "Wouldn't it have been helpful to tell them?"

            Botan shook her head. "Koenma doesn't want Neko's training to be interrupted, because she'd probably try to track him down if she thought she was the source. Hiei would insist on handling the matter on his own for personal honor. Neither one may know, we must try and keep them apart so we can figure out which one Kennichi is after and what he looks like."

            Kuwabara snorted. "Keeping them apart shouldn't be hard, they're like a cat and dog." (This is an amusing comparison bcs 'neko' means 'cat.' Moan if you wish at this bad joke. J)

            Yusuke and Kurama traded a look. "Maybe not, they both feel miffed if we don't include them in a case or fight, and they have all the same classes," Yusuke said.

            Kurama nodded and said, "And then there's the feelings they have for each other." Botan and Kuwabara stared. "Yusuke and I watched them when we brought Neko back from her first training trip. Hiei was very protective and surprisingly gentle—until she woke up."

            Botan frowned. "I see. I'll inform Koenma and see if we can do something about this. Hopefully it's nothing. I'll talk to you later." Then they headed home.


	10. The Truth

Author's Note: I figured we'd heard a lot about the YYH world, but had yet to get a connection with the CCS world. Sorry it's so short, but time isn't cheap.

            Back in Neko's native world…

            Narwa, head of the Kurai for only the past week (the past year spent fighting the competition), glared at the spy sitting across from him. The boy looked nervous. "You say the Li family no longer possesses the Cards? The girl is gone?"

            The spy nodded. "Y-yes, she disappeared one night and didn't return. At first it looked like the coming-of-age ceremony they use to awaken their member's adulthood powers, but when they returned she was not with them."

            Narwa's predecessor had been blind to the need for surveillance of the enemy, costing him his position and his life. Now that Narwa was in control, things would change. Narwa leaned forward and asked, "What has Eriol been doing?"

            The spy blinked. "Well, nothing. He spends most of his time at his office or meditating like a monk."

            Narwa nodded and sat back. "I see, return to your post." The boy practically ran from the room. Narwa looked at the roaring fireplace with bright green eyes. Eriol was up to something, it was obvious. The reincarnation of the Cards' creator wouldn't let them vanish, nor would he betray his friendship with that twerp's thrice cursed parents. Narwa had been too young to remember the Cardcaptors, but their legacy lived on…somewhere. Right now, he just needed to locate her.

            He walked through a side door into another room. It was simply furnished and had a dark alter at one end. Kneeling before it, Narwa closed his eyes and cast his mind into the blessed waters in the basin. He knew what she looked like, and no matter where she was, in time or space, he'd find her.

            As he opened his eyes, an evil grin spread across his face. "I've found you, _Neko_…"

            Back to Neko's current realm…

            BEEEEEEEEP! The bell for the end of last period rang and Neko jumped. She'd dosed off in the middle of English and had a strange dream. In it, her cat had talked and been swallowed up by a strange playing card. Still somewhat groggy, she meandered down the hall and out of the building. The crisp air woke her up and she walked a more sure path down the street towards home. After dropping off her books and changing, she would use her new skills Koenma had taught her and return to Spirit World for training. Weekends were made all the more beautiful whenever she learned something new, last week she'd harnessed her power over the last element, earth.

            As she came around the corner, Neko became aware of something odd. There was a group of emergency vehicles in front of her house. Her heart skipped a beat and she started running. A police officer saw her coming and held out his arms. "Whoa! Wait—"

            "That's my house!" she shouted, as if that answered everything, and she ran on. Various officials were walking around the yard and in and out of the house. Neko leapt by them and went inside. She looked around and felt sick. There was nothing disagreeable to her eyes, but her sixth sense, which she compared to a super sense of smell, was screaming. Something very wrong had been in here for a long time. After she got over this she noticed the broken art and torn paintings. Glass crunched as she surveyed the damage. Where was Kiri?

            "Damn cat!" shouted someone. Neko looked up and saw a police woman trying to get a grip on Kiri, who was hissing and spitting.

            "Kiri!" Neko said sharply. The cat and cop froze, then Kiri made a final swipe and leapt at Neko. She rubbed her head against Neko's shoulder and purred loudly.

            The police officer sighed. "I guess it's for the best, but you're going to have to answer a few questions so we can try and figure out who did this."

            Neko followed her outside and sat on the curb with a shivering Kiri in her lap as she did her best to think of suspicious characters without wandering into the supernatural. The cop units began to disperse, and finally the two officers decided they had picked Neko's mind clean. "We contacted your father at work, he'll be home soon," one of them said. Neko nodded and the cop took her blank look to mean this had all been rather disturbing to her. "Do you have some neighbors you can stay with for now?"

            Neko nodded. Yes, her friends lived close enough. The cops left and Neko stared at her house. It looked so dead and lifeless, lacking any sense of home. Hugging Kiri tight, Neko crept in the back and packed her things. She wrote out a long letter to her father and left it on her desk. As she was leaving, she grabbed her locket. She didn't feel right leaving it behind now that her house had been broken into.

            As she stepped out onto the road, she caught a whiff of something familiar. It was similar to Hiei's, but with an extra bite that made her want to sneeze. There was a rustle of cloth above and she looked up. The streetlight was barely beginning to glow as the sun set, but it was bright enough to temporarily blind her and give the person perched on top of the pole enough time to leap down. Neko blinked and narrowed her eyes at the stranger.

            His eyes were red, but cold and hard. His hair was black and hung down, but other than that he looked like Hiei before the growth spurt Neko had heard so much about. She held on to her bag tightly, and prayed Kiri could run away if he struck. Kiri didn't hiss or spit, just narrowed her eyes at the demon. "You must be Neko, I've heard so much about you," he said. Neko felt somewhat disturbed. His voice was dead, cruel, had nothing in it to appeal to. He walked around her, looking her over. "Hmm, perhaps you are strong enough to be the Chosen One. Of course, Hiei and I are also candidates." 

            Neko tried to keep her muscles relaxed. When she was sure her voice wouldn't shake, she said, "I don't know about any 'Chosen One,' but I do know that my father isn't just at work."

            He came back to the front, eyes wide. "Oh? I guess you're smarter than I thought." With a movement almost too fast to track, he leapt to the street light once more. "Meet me in my humble abode in Spirit World if you care for his safety. You'd better bring that buddy of yours, Hiei, as well. I'm sure he'd find this too good an offer to refuse if you tell him one word."

            Neko looked down the street in the relative direction of Hiei's new apartment. "What should I say?"

            The demon grinned. "Kennichi." Then he was gone. Neko could smell him as he leapt to the rooftops and away. Once he was out of earshot, she collapsed on the ground, her whole body shaking as tears ran down her face. Why? Why had her father been involved? Nothing in her life seemed to be right. She suddenly could see nothing but black. Her shivering body was gone, she felt nothing. A picture formed. It was a woman with light brown hair and bright green eyes in a strange dress with a cherry blossom pin. 

            "Who are you?" she asked. The woman smiled sadly and looked down. Neko watched her unfasten the cherry blossom pin and stood absolutely still as the lady attached it to her uniform front. The woman stood back and started to fade. "Wait!" Neko cried out.

            The woman lifted a hand in farewell. "_Will you fight to hope, Neko?_" she asked before disappearing. Neko was now standing on the sidewalk once more. She blinked and looked around. What had just happened? 

            "Neko," said a woman's voice behind her. Neko turned, but saw no one. "Down here." Neko looked down and saw Kiri gazing up at her. "Neko, do not concern yourself with Sapphire's safety, he is your Guardian and chose to protect you by allowing himself to be taken. We must leave this world, it has become too dangerous for you." Kiri turned and started to walk back towards the house. Neko didn't follow. "Well? We must contact Eriol and have him open the portal."

            "No," Neko said. She looked at her cat, until now an innocent pet. Neko realized at that moment that her whole existence had been a lie. She felt her power to tell truth from lie awaken and it measured her memories in a flash. So many things she'd based her life on, and none of it real. Only the past couple of years had been real, but there had been another home before this world. Yes, she knew this. However, she still loved her father, guardian or no, and this was the world her friends lived in. How could she know if her past home had any friends? One thing was certain, she would not abandon them after all they'd done for her.

            "Neko, we must leave!" Kiri insisted.

            Neko turned. "I'm going to tell Hiei about Kennichi, then I'm going to save Sapphire." She walked down the road, leaving her dumbfounded cat to catch up.


	11. House Go Boom

Author's Note: Nakoruru, you are the first person outside my family to use that reference for 'dinner.' On a more interesting note for the rest of my readers, school's up this week (seniors got out early) so I'll have more time to write. Enjoy!

            Hiei's response to Neko's news had been…clear. The couch now lay in five pieces, having fallen victim to Hiei's rage at hearing that Kennichi had been under his nose, in plain sight, and taken a hostage. Hiei had then gone into his bedroom and not come out. An hour passed, and Neko decided to change into clothes more suitable for a rescue mission.

            Neko looked at her reflection in the mirror and the light on the ceiling fluttered. She looked at its reflection and was blinded. She blinked to clear her sight and then stared. The bathroom was gone, and she stood in a large hall. The room went up two stories and was decorated in bright crimson with white marble. It made her feel strangely proud. Then she saw the chairs—thrones—on the dais at the far end. There were six, four smaller on each side of the central and larger thrones. She felt her lip turn up, then heard soft footfalls behind her. A hand rested on her shoulder, and she began to turn and look up. Frustratingly enough, she closed her eyes as she turned and it occurred to her that she was merely a passenger in this vision. Then she felt firm, smooth lips meet hers and silently gasped. What was this dancing feeling? Wait—that scent, it surrounded her, it reminded her of…

            Before she could complete the thought, the vision left her. Neko once again faced the bathroom mirror in Hiei's apartment. She sighed and opened her bag. Off came the uniform, and on went the formfitting bodysuit and looser shift. The shift wasn't much of a dress, with high slits to allow movement, which was secured by a thin belt with a single pouch. Into this pouch went a bottle about the size of Neko's fist with a strong dose of what Koenma had described as 'wake water.' It had been a stimulant to keep her going through endless days of training, and she felt she might need it now. No weapons were necessary, she had her training and magic. She braided her hair, and started to pack her things up again. Something hard on her uniform hit her hand and she looked closer. There was a pink pin on the front. Remembering her vision, Neko gently removed the pin and fastened it to her shoulder. Then she took out her locket, now known not to have been her mother's, but still important to her. It went with the pin rather nicely. Content, she left the bathroom.

            Hiei sat on the windowsill. For some reason he'd turned off all the lights, and the moonlight gave his figure a silver lining. Then he stood and Neko recognized his original black outfit. A sword in its sheath rested at his side, his only weapon. Neko looked up at his shadow where his eyes would be. "Are you ready?" he asked.

            "Yes," she said. Hiei walked to the door. "But, shouldn't we tell the others?"

            He stopped. "No, they'll only get in the way." Neko wondered about the sense in that judgment, but decided Hiei was the more experienced fighter and would know. They left the apartment and went down the stairs in silence. As they left the building, the bushes off to the side rustled. Hiei crouched, but Neko knew that sound. 

            "Kiri!" she said. The cat came out and Hiei relaxed. Kiri jumped up and Neko caught her. Neko then held Kiri out at arms length like a stray and said sternly, "If you come with us you'll have to pull your own weight." Hiei smirked.

            His smirk vanished when Kiri said, "Honestly! Need I remind you that _I_ am _your_ Guardian? Pull my own weight indeed!"

            Neko set Kiri down and said. "Sapphire got caught, and he is also one of my supposed Guardians." Kiri grumbled, but followed the two crusaders into the night.

            Yusuke sighed and looked up. A whole lot of nothing had happened over the past week. He'd gotten so used to running around that free time made him bored. Kayko had managed to drag him to a movie, and it hadn't been too bad, but boredom had set in and he felt like a slug. His daydreams were quickly interrupted by the appearance of a floating Koenma in front of his face—a much taller Koenma. 

            "Yusuke! We have an emergency!" Koenma said, his voice down an octave and his mouth looking rather strange without its pacifier. 

            Yusuke picked himself up off the floor and gaped. "_Koenma?_ What the heck happened to you?"

            Koenma smiled. "It seems Neko has a natural ability to bring out people's potential. I had the potential to grow taller, and did so. For Hiei I imagine it was the same."

            Yusuke frowned. "What about me?"

            Koenma scratched his face. "Well, I guess you've hit a dead end." Yusuke opened his mouth to object, but Koenma continued. "I called on you to let you know that Hiei and Neko have come to Spirit World."

            Yusuke felt let down. "What? That's not exactly a crisis."

            Koenma leaned forward. "It is if they happen to go directly to a heavily shielded mansion, which I have just been informed is inhabited by none other than Kennichi."

            Yusuke blinked. "How did they know?"

            Koenma shrugged. "That's anybody's guess, but you need to round up the grew and get over there quick. They were insane to go alone, Kennichi is no amateur."

            Neko, Kiri, and Hiei looked up the hill at the textbook example of a haunted mansion. The dead garden with its skeletal trees reaching into the sky lay between them and the side of the house. Kiri batted Neko's leg with a paw to get the girl's attention. "Once we get inside, I will return to my original form. I must stress that the instant we have Sapphire we leave for home."

            Hiei looked at Neko, waiting to hear her answer. She looked at the house. "I don't know where home is, but we will leave once our mission is complete." Then Neko crouched low and ran for the house. Hiei kept pace and an eye out for danger. Kiri hadn't expected the other two to leave so abruptly and had to catch up, but they all reached the mansion safely. Hiei eyed a second floor window. 

            "Think your magic can get you two up there?" he asked Neko. She was staring at the wall. Hiei didn't appreciate being ignored and reached out to grab her arm and turn her to face him. The cat yowled and he paused to look down. 

            Kiri's tail was swishing back and forth. "I think she's going to take us right through. Pick me up and grab a hold of her." Hiei hesitated, but Neko suddenly started to walk into the brick wall. Without a second thought, he scooped up Kiri and latched onto Neko's arm as she guided them through the wall and into a dark passage.

            The hall was unusually wide, but long enough that the dim glow from Neko's magic around them didn't let them see the opposite end. Kiri jumped out of Hiei's arms and shuddered. She grew into a large, dark tiger with draconic wings the same gold as her eyes. Neko stopped glowing, and just as her light died, sconces on the walls came to life.

            They were in an old ballroom or dining room which had been cleared out except for one piece of furniture on the far end. Hiei drew his sword and Kiri turned to face the throne and growled. Neko frowned, she sensed nothing. Then Kennichi appeared on the throne, lounging with such a relaxed posture that he could've been waiting there for hours. Neko began to feel uneasy, she hadn't smelled anything.

            Kennichi gave them a toothy grin. "I see you accepted my invitation without delay, congratulations. However, you should have brought your other allies because there isn't just me who wants to fight you." A taller man stepped out from behind the throne, his dark cape swishing behind him like a shadow. Neko felt her head ache. She knew this man! At least she knew his psychic scent, and it wasn't pleasant. Kennichi continued. "Allow me to introduce Narwa, a guest from a dark sect, the Kurai."

            Narwa grinned and Neko realized that he may be evil, but he was not much older than she. "Li Neko, we meet at last. Your grandmother will be so sad to hear you died—again."

            Neko brought up her hands and her magical bow appeared. "What do you know about my grandmother?" she asked. She couldn't remember too many particulars about a grandmother, but there had been one. This guy was probably from her true past.

            The man waved a hand dismissively. "She's still around, controlling the Li family like a baker does dough, but they're doomed. Why do we bother with things which will soon prove to be pointless? You're going to try to shoot me, aren't you?"

            Neko loosed her arrow. It bounced off her target like rain on a windshield. She gaped. That arrow had been powered to kill, who was this guy? Narwa looked a little insulted. "That's your best shot? Your mother was five times more powerful than you! What happened to the awesome power you supposedly inherited from those parents of yours? They nearly killed my former master, despite their eventual defeat at his hands, and even I thought twice before attacking the Li family stronghold." He paused and then looked thoughtful. "Or maybe…You aren't really a Li."

            A sword appeared in Neko's hand and she settled into a defensive stance. "I _am_ Li Neko!"

            Kennichi yawned and got up from his chair. "That's fascinating, but not what I'm here for." Hiei shifted his whole focus to Kennichi, who drew his sword and faced Hiei. "I'm looking forward to this rematch, 'Chosen One', but I'll let you make the first move."

            Hiei frowned. "What 'Chosen One?'" 

             Kennichi sneered. "There's a prophecy among us apparitions, a tale which has tempted me since childhood. What it boils down to, is the founding of a dynasty of power, which rules the universe in all but name." 

            Hiei shifted his position to give him the best speed and waited for the right moment. True to his suspicions, Kennichi leapt first and made to strike Hiei down with a single blow. Hiei moved to parry the strike…

            Yelan looked at the surrounding landscape and felt her hope waver. Eriol had sent her granddaughter to this world to protect her? He had explained that it was supposed to be as much an education for her as a safe place to grow into adulthood instead of being thrown into it head first, but Li Yelan felt like she had to question his right to do this. Yes, he was the greatest magician in the world, but that didn't give him authority over everyone. 

            She had personally traced Neko to this place, another level to an alternate dimension, referred to as Spirit World. In front of her was the mansion where Neko and Hiei had been summoned by Narwa and Kennichi. Yelan looked behind her at the few she'd brought with her on this dangerous mission. Meilin, Junko, Rita, and Yuki stood in battle costume with their weapons ready. Rita had been a last minute addition because of her insistence on coming along. She had been the closest to Neko, and had admitted to actually missing her cousin after the first few weeks. Now she was a young woman, not a child, and could be counted on to use magic responsibly. 

            There was a rustle behind them and Yelan spun around. A young man in jeans and an open jacket stood there, a smirk of his face. "Would you be Kennichi's security force?" he asked.

            Yelan stepped forward and was about to admonish the boy for speaking so to his elders, when someone else came out of the trees. Another young man, but wearing a red school uniform and with red hair, stepped forward and placed a restraining hand on his companion's shoulder. "Yusuke, these people are humans." The black-hared one seemed to give them a doubtful look, but shrugged. The redhead bowed to Yelan. "Forgive my friend, My Lady, we just weren't expecting to find anyone like yourself in this part of Spirit World." He straightened and asked, "I would appreciate knowing why you are here."

            Yelan nodded to her family and they sat down, but still with an uneasy eye on the newcomers. "We are not of your world, we come from an alternate Earth in search of my granddaughter, Neko." The two young men shared surprised looks. "You know her?"

            The first, Yusuke, nodded. "Yeah, she's in our class. Kuwabara thought she was a demon at first because of her unique spirit energy, but I guess it stands to reason she'd be different if she's a magician from another world." 

            Yelan nodded slowly. "Yes, has there been much trouble? This looks like a rather unfriendly place for me to find her in."

            A third person stumbled out of the bushes at that moment, a young man with orange hair and a blue uniform. Yelan found it interesting that two wore uniforms and the third did not. The latest arrival looked at her group with confusion written all over his face. "Who are you?"

            Yusuke ignored him. "To answer your question, it seems a particularly dangerous demon took an interest in Neko and one of our other friends, Hiei. They came here to confront him." He pointed a thumb at his face. "We're the reinforcements."

            Yelan looked the three boys over. Them? Well, odder things were possible. They had no magic, but their mention of 'spirit energy' made her assume it was something used instead of magic in this world.

            There was a sudden explosion from the house and they all spun around to look up the hill. A hole had been blown in the roof. As the debris fell, several figures came out and started jumping around at incredible heights. Yelan recognized the purple hair from one, and the uniform on another. "A Kurai!" she shouted. Yuki, Junko, Rita, and Meilin immediately headed for the house, the others close behind.


	12. House Really Go Boom

Author's Note: Okiday, time for some more writing. My office is all picked up and orderly (took me all day yesterday) and I love my reviewers! Thank-you starkitty, Nakoruru, Ss Jk, Thorn, and Staci.

            Neko knew it wasn't enough. This guy was just taunting her. She was barely able to repel his attacks, and hers seemed to do nothing. Her sword had shattered on the first hit, and everything else she tried just didn't work! Neko could feel her anger growing. Narwa then threw a particularly large fire blast at her and she used her shield ability to direct the blast at the ceiling. It went right through it and up to create a hole to the sky. Hiei and Kennichi immediately made use of this new space and started jumping up. Neko pushed herself to jump after Narwa as he calmly floated up the three floors.

            As she came to the roof, Neko realized she was going to lose. There was no other option. She didn't have the strength, experience, or wits to win this fight. In her past, had she been able to do it? Had she known more as a child? Narwa leapt into the air and threw out his arms. A glowing ribbon appeared between them. "Well? Give up! Bring back the old Neko! I want to fight Cardcaptor Neko!" As he said it, his ribbon coursed out and headed for Neko. She tried to dodge, but it followed her and wrapped soundly around, pinning her arms so she couldn't move them. It lifted her from the roof and held her over the edge. She stopped squirming and gulped. She hated heights. 

            Narwa laughed. "Well? What about the Cards?"

            Neko felt sick with worry. She looked at him and shouted, "I have no idea! What are you talking about? I have no cards! I did have two Guardians until you trapped them!" Poor Kiri had snuck around the fight inside and found Sapphire behind the throne, but once she touched him she'd been caught by the same spell that bound him. She'd lasted long enough to shout a warning before collapsing.

            Narwa gripped the ribbon in both hands and said, "Very well, then I guess I'll just take them using a spell I've been working on for years for this moment. Neko Cards! I wish to have a contract with you! Come forth!" Neko screamed as fire coursed through her veins and the power of the Cards was wrenched from her spirit by the ribbon. One by one they traveled down to her captor like a golden stream as he called out their many names. Finally he stopped, and she sagged in the air, feeling weak and sick and beaten. Narwa held up the cards in his hand. "One more, and it will hurt the most because it's the one your own mother made! HOPE!" Neko's body strained and writhed, but The Hope card appeared in front of her and coursed down the ribbon to its new holder. 

            "NEKO!" shouted a voice far below. Her eyes cracked open to see several bleary forms standing on the ground. A few were her friends, but the others… She felt the ribbon loosen and someone closer shouted, "No!" but there was no denying gravity. Neko slipped out of the bindings and began to fall.

            Suddenly, she came to a stop and opened her eyes. The woman with the long, brown hair and sad, green eyes was holding her. Neko rested her exhausted head on the woman's shoulder and let herself be held. "_Neko, you aren't powerless. You've wielded the card you were born with your whole life, and still do. It can be used to call back the others no matter what spell the Kurai uses. Remember my gift to you, you could say it's in memory of your mother…who was my daughter, Sakura._"

            Neko's eyes opened fully and she looked up at the woman's face. It was fading away. "Grandmother?" she whispered. The lady smiled and was gone. Neko blinked, coming fully awake, and looked down. She was not dead, just floating twenty feet above the ground. Below her were the stunned faces of her friends and…her family. She smiled at them and said, "I'm not beat, not yet." She looked up at the edge of the roof and floated over it. Up top, the fight was at a standstill. Hiei and Kennichi were staring at Narwa, who was playing with a deck of purple cards, Neko's. When her feet rested on the roof, they looked up and gaped. Hiei's expression of relief was almost painful. In that moment, his eyes met hers and there was a kind of melding of minds. For an instant they had been through everything the other had faced. Then they were two people again. Hiei nodded and backed up to the edge of the roof closest to him. He knew what she was planning to do, and it would be best if he weren't around.

            "Narwa!" Neko shouted. Narwa blinked. She smiled. "You may have 53 Cards, but there is one more."

            The Kurai leader frowned. "How? The Hope is the last."

            Neko reached up and yanked her locket off her neck. She unhooked her cherry blossom pin and set it in the groove on top of the locket. There was a flash, and the locket sprung open. Neko felt herself get bathed in power as a golden light glowered fiercely from her forehead and the symbol that was there. When it faded, she wielded her golden staff, and wore the battle costume Eriol had hidden when he sent her to this other world.

            She held up her staff with one hand and shouted, "Void!" A dark spot appeared above her staff, and it grew to the size of a basketball. The Cards leapt from Narwa's hands and flew into the void, into Neko. When the last was gone, the black emptiness dissolved and Neko aimed her staff at Narwa. "Now, let's see how you handle Cardcaptor Neko!"

            In a show of skill, she swung her staff around and slammed the end of it into the roof. Kennichi and Narwa bounced around a bit as they tried to keep their balance. Hiei took this as the sign to leave, and leapt off the roof to land neatly beside Yelan and Kurama on the ground. Kurama turned to Hiei and asked, "What's going on up there? Is Kennichi dead?"

            Hiei said nothing and just watched the flashing lights play in the dark sky above the mansion. Night had come at Neko's call, and the powers were uniting behind her as a part of her. Yes, Hiei thought, humans aren't so weak.

            Up on the roof, Neko's powers were building. She sealed the roof with the loop card so Narwa and Kennichi couldn't leave, then built up her storm of power to wipe them out for good. When it was ready in her mind's eye, she let go of her staff and left it pulsing on the roof as she sprouted wings and flew up and away. Once she was a hundred or so feet from the edifice, the staff unleashed the power of the elements in a storm reaching from sky to basement. The pillar of power lit Spirit World up like day and then began to slowly fade.

            As the pillar vanished, it became obvious the mansion hadn't survived. There was nothing where it had once stood, just a hole. Neko flew down and plucked her staff from the air where the roof had once been, before landing in the crater she had made. The others rushed to the edge to see what she was doing. Neko knelt in the black dirt and seemed to be drawing something. "Creation and life are not the same, but Clow Reed was the first to create something so closely resembling life we could mistake it for such," she said. She stepped back and waved her staff over the drawings she'd done. There was a golden glow, and then two forms appeared. Hiei recognized one as Kiri, with her grey body and golden wings, so he assumed the strange man with blue wings was Sapphire. 

            Both Guardians looked asleep. Neko knelt in the dirt in front of them and they began to stir. Kiri lifted her massive head and licked Neko's face. "Thank-you, Master Neko," she said. Neko smiled. Sapphire opened his eyes and sat up. Unlike Kiri, he did not lick Neko, instead he stood and thanked her formally. She accepted his thanks and the three of them left the foundation and joined their companions.

Author's Note: Oh no! The next chapter is the last! Be sure to read it and tell me what ficcie I should try next.


	13. And They Had a Bunch of Little Demons, T...

Author's Note: Ah! The last chapter is here, and forgive for any lack of closure you may feel it has (I sure don't). Anyhoo, I've already started cooking up a new fic, and it should be out soon. However, I need to do more! Writing is what keeps me sane in the summer. Thank-you for reading!

            Neko looked out the window and sighed. She was back. Her grandmother had kept her room exactly the same during her latest absence, but Neko would be leaving soon. Now that she and Hiei had managed to convince everyone they were serious about getting married, her family was willing to let her go back to Hiei's world to live. She would always think of this place fondly, but it just wasn't where she felt she belonged. Her memories had returned, but she'd managed to maintain an air of innocence using her alternate lifetime as a barrier against unwanted wisdom. When she became a grandmother it would be okay to let that go, but for now she would keep her delusions. 

            The Kurai were no longer a threat. Upon Neko's return, she had confronted Eriol and convinced him his neutral actions tended to help the Kurai. When they successfully confronted the Kurai at _their_ home base, they had ensured the survival of Neko's family and kept the world in the dark about the whole matter. A few letters to Mrs. Kelly and Aki had explained her prolonged absence and awakened a lasting friendship. 

            There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Neko said. The door opened and Yelan came in. Neko sat up and smiled. "Grandmother, please sit down."

            Li Yelan sat in Neko's desk chair thankfully. Her years were beginning to catch up, but she wasn't quitting before she got to see her great-grandchildren. Yelan looked at Neko and smiled. "Your eyes are greener today, I wonder what color your children's will be." Neko felt a little squeamish. She hoped her grandmother hadn't come in to talk about…that. "I do hope you'll visit every now and then, and not just me. Eriol plans to leave everything to you once he dies—which won't be for a while, but make sure not to estrange yourself from him and lose the favor you have. I think you are the only one he really cares for in this family…"

            Neko looked at her dresser with its pictures. "Don't forget Meilin." Lately, 'Uncle' Eriol had been showing an interest in the magic-less Meilin, who had grown up with him and Neko's parents. 

            Yelan smiled. "Yes, that may happen, but probably not with any great speed. It really is a pity they didn't notice each other earlier, they aren't getting any younger." She picked up the picture of Neko at her high school graduation from Sarayashiki High School. Neko had maintained her other life so she could be near Hiei. Their romance had sparked when they thought no one else was watching. Then came the day their friends threw them a party on the anniversary of their first date—which had ended with a demon chase. Now A nineteen-year-old Neko was preparing to move to her other world life instead of commuting every day. 

            Yelan stood and set the picture down. "I guess I'll let you keep packing. Come say goodbye before you leave." Neko nodded and Yelan left the room. 

            Neko jumped across the room to her desk and took out her purple book. It looked like the Sakura Book, but with a few key changes. One was the color, now purple, the other was what was inside. Neko opened the book and tapped the front page. A living image appeared of Hiei. "Hi! I'll be coming over soon, hopefully before my grandmother has another opportunity to look tragic."

            Hiei nodded, his face blank. "I'll be waiting at the usual place," he said, and the picture faded into a blank page. Neko set the book down and brought out the bags she'd been packing. An hour later, she wiped the sweat from her brow and pointed at the packed luggage. It shrunk to a fraction of its size, and she dumped them all into her purse before picking up her book and heading down the hall. She popped her head into her grandmother's office and found almost everyone there. 

            They stood and waited. Neko slowly came in and closed the door. Then she ran around giving people hugs and promising to invite them to the wedding and to keep in touch, etc. Finally, she faced her grandmother once more. Yelan wasn't the kind of woman you would typically want to coddle, but Neko managed to give her a warm hug and a tearful farewell before leaving the room and going to the patio out in the garden. 

            She held out a hand, calling her staff. Neko swung it around her head in a circle and pointed it straight up into the evening sky. A dark portal with green lightning appeared and she jumped through. 

            Neko landed in Hiei's arms. He bent his head down and they shared a quick kiss in greeting. He set her on her feet and she looked up the street to where their apartment was. It had been a literal gift from above, Koenma's thank-you for giving him a growth spurt. Of course, their real home was where Kennichi's mansion had been. Through their combined efforts, Hiei and Neko had built a new home there and revived the grounds. It was where they were planning to live, along with any little demons who came along—including Yusuke and Kayko's twins of terror, Leto and Ghanima.  (If you recognize these names, I salute you.)

            Hiei gave Neko a look that filled her stomach with butterflies. "You know what's going to happen now, right?" he asked.

            Neko nodded. "Yes, but I have to wonder if Galfin will hold off his revenge on us until after Luraelon is born." Hiei chuckled and held Neko close under the darkening sky. She could feel him silently probing her body with his mind, reassuring himself that the life growing there was real. Neko sighed and leaned back into him. "Our son the tadpole! You won't be able to make any telepathic connection for quite a while, you know."

            Hiei took her hand and started for their apartment. "I know, but it never hurts to check." Neko began to silently wonder if Hiei was going to be this protective for each of her pregnancies. If her versions were true, then she could look forward to spending a lot more time with him. 

            She personally felt there was nothing wrong with that.

That's it! It's over! Done! Ended! FINALLY! This has taken so much of my time, I don't know what to do with it now that this is done…Yes I do! I'll write another! But what to do it about…Any ideas? I always appreciate inspiration.


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